Plant people know that plants make their own food. The process of photosynthesis is how plants convert solar (light) energy into chemical energy. Within plants when water and carbon dioxide are in the presence of sunlight and cholorphyll, food, water and oxygen are created. An even simplier way of looking at this truly amazing phenomenon is Carbon Dioxide + Water + Chlorophyll in the presence of sunlight produces carbohydrates, Water and Oxygen. Really, I wish I could do this…even if I did have to be green to do so.

Another amazing twist on fascinating plants’ ability to care for themselves was released today by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Like humans who reach for an asprin when they don’t feel well, plants enjoy a bit of the same when they’re under stress. The cool thing is that they can create their own remedy in methyl salicylate, all by themselves! No chemical company or trip to the drug store involved. (Its long been know that plants produce this chemical, but this application may be new.)

And, if that weren’t cool enough, these chemicals may allow monitoring equipment to detect how plants are caring for themselves and how stressed (or not) they may be. Why does this matter? It can help farmers (and others) know a little better whether a plant needs some help dealing with stress. This will help them determine if a pesticide or fertilizer application really necessary — or not.

Feverfew in Bloom

And, I wonder, do foraging animals smell these chemicals? Does a sickly brown bear seek out a blueberry-flavored asprin bush from time-to-time? Is it possible that we could stress out a plant in our garden and use that to help alleviate our aches and pains, cutting out the Bayers of the world? Could it be that Feverfew, which I’ve relied on for years in managing migraine pain, actually excretes this chemical more than other plants and we just didn’t know it until now? I wonder…

Plants create a massive array of chemicals that nobody completely understands. As we lose plants and habitat through human activity, I can only wonder what opportunities in nature we are losing as well.