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Jasmine is a delightful fragrance, but unfortunately it makes plants feel uncomfortable.
Jasmonates are a class of chemicals which contribute to the scent of jasmine. They're also commonly pheromones which plants use to warn each other of danger, particularly when herbivores are around. Plants detect these molecules and start putting up defences.
(Jasmonates also act as plant hormones which help regulate growth, reproductive development, and photosynthesis)
I've never been very good with cultivating plants myself, but they are fascinating creatures. They can do so many amazing things without a nervous system which is just wild!
@solarpunkgnome It's fascinating how, the more we learn about plants, the more we realise there's so much we still don't fully understand about them!
Yeah, every new answer from research tends to bring up several new questions. I think that tends to be a theme for most of the sciences, but maybe botany and biology moreso. I went the chemistry/materials science route partially because the biology end of things seemed too open ended, if that makes sense? Living things seem too mysterious to grok sometimes for my brain.
@solarpunkgnome I think everything is inherently open ended TBH. For me, it's about which area feels most intuitive and where you feel like you can understand most effectively.
@cb It's so cool. According to some recent botany research, plants have all kinds of communication via chemical messages, and even sound, that we can't perceive. One raises an alert and others nearby prepare their defences.
They can also communicate with insects – one of the responses of some plants to being damaged is to release chemicals which attract predatory insects to defend against insects which might be eating them.