"A committee is organic rather than mechanical in its nature: it is not a structure but a plant. It takes root and grows, it flowers, wilts, and dies, scattering the seed from which other committees will bloom in their turn"

This quote by C. Northcote Parkinson is a metaphor for the nature of a committee. He is comparing a committee to a plant, recommending that it is natural and not mechanical. A committee is not a static structure, but rather a living entity that takes root and grows. It has a life process, with a start, middle, and end. It will ultimately wilt and die, however not prior to it has actually scattered the seed from which other committees will bloom in their turn. This metaphor is a pointer that a committee is a living, breathing entity that is continuously changing and developing. It is not a fixed structure, however rather a dynamic organism that is continuously in flux.