Seeing as the plant kept the flower and ditched the leaf. I conclude that plants also prefer sex over food.
There are insects who enter their adult stage with no mouth. They are here to fuck then starve.
Store all the food they need (until they can fuck) when they could eat in their juvenile form.
This was my first thought. abscisic acid.
Also if a plant has a head, the head is in the soil, not the air.
Biologist here. Can confirm, that's exactly how it happens. No need to look into plant physiology textbooks.
I repeat: do not look for plant physiology textbooks. Do. Not. Please. Please while you can. Do not.
Wondering if you say this in order to protect others from the pain/horror of learning it, or to protect some deep conspiratory secret. Maybe I'll just open a textbook and find out...
But is it because NeatNit is too happy to even remember to come back or is it because he's gone for good?