Plants have a versatile impact on our senses, both positive and negative - they affect our body, incl. directly on the endocrine system, through chemicals and radiation emitted from its tissues; they interact through smell, color, shape and habit, as well as aura, i.e. energy vibrations, changing our physical and mental well-being. These impacts are not one-sided, we also affect plants, not only by watering and fertilizing them. These reactions are much more subtle.
Oxygen production
Most obvious is how plants act by the oxygen they give off.In the process of photosynthesis, carbohydrates and oxygen are produced, which are essential for our breathing. This process takes place with the participation of carbon dioxide, water and light. But plants also breathe by absorbing oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. However, the amount of oxygen from photosynthesis production is greater than the amount of carbon dioxide released from respiration, and we use this "excess". One 100-year-old beech gives off 1.7 kg of oxygen per hour, which meets the oxygen requirements of 10 people.
Poisons and medications
One of the oldest methods of treatment is phytotherapy, i.e. treatment with plants. This is possible due to the presence of various chemical compounds in them, which can be used directly with fresh or dried plants or after isolating them from plant tissues.
Some plant species contain compounds that are harmful to humans, often even poisonous:
• yew, an alkaloid-containing taxin, has poisonous needles and shoots, but the seeds are especially dangerous because they are placed in red arils that look like very appetizing (the arils themselves are not poisonous);
• rout or primula in contact with the skin causes allergies and "burns"
• autumn winter weather is dangerous in contact with open wounds.
Some cut flowers grown in the garden also have poisonous properties: narcissi, tulips, lilies of the valley, lilies, callas, hepatica, pasque-flower and anemones.
We have been growing medicinal plants for centuries, such as herbs from the Labiatae family (lemon balm, sage, rosemary, mint, lavender), which are also used as spices. Rosemary tones, among others the work of the heart, liver, gall bladder. All parts of plants are used in herbal medicine; flowers (e.g. linden, hawthorn), leaves (birch), roots (chicory), fruit (rose, sea buckthorn).
Air ionization
Human organism it needs negative ions for normal development. If there are enough of them, we do not feel the loss of our own electrons, and the surface electrical barrier of our body is maintained, which guarantees full stability of life processes. The most accessible and abundant source of these life-giving charges is air. A short-term excess of positive ions usually causes deterioration of well-being, nervous and mental crises, while long-term excess can even lead to various types of chronic disease states.The deficiency of negative ions is especially acute in closed rooms. Most plants ionize the air negatively. Plants that significantly increase the amount of negative ions in the air include: Scots pine, Common juniper, warty birch, as well as small low birch growing up to 1.5 m in height.
In rooms, a lot of negative ions are emitted by: there is tall nephrolepis, geraniums with fragrant leaves and myrtle with antidepressant and bactericidal properties, especially in respiratory infections.
Aura - energetic vibrations Every living organism emits waves energy in the form of a bioplasmic field (aura), which is made up of ions, free protons and free electrons. It consists of many layers, each with its own frequency. It has been tested that, for example, a garden hydrangea emits energy that spreads evenly in all directions. It is refreshing, gives us serenity and evokes joy. Rhododendrons and azaleas have a soft, delicate energy that radiates like a spiral that gives you relaxation and peace.Ever-flowering begonias emit gentle energy gushing upwards like a fountain. They are especially recommended for the elderly, as they improve the mood.
Secretion of essential oils
The sense of smell transfers external stimuli to the brain the fastest. Scent therapy with the use of natural plant essential oils is aimed at physically and mentally strengthening the body's immunity. When we surround ourselves with fragrant plants, we use natural aromatherapy. The greatest we alth of fragrances surrounds us in spring and summer, during the flowering of plants, but the leaves also smell, although not always pleasant, e.g. in glandular almond they have a specific, castor smell. The shoots of, for example, common catalpa, trees with a very nice shape - with a short trunk and wide, spreading crown and large leaves are also smelling.
Plant filters
Numerous studies have shown that plants can clean the air contaminated with harmful substances. Building materials that emit harmful chemical compounds are often used indoors, e.g.formaldehyde, xylene, toluene, benzene, ammonia, alcohol, and acetone. There are also substances secreted by humans, the so-called biological fumes.
The most common ailments caused by a mixture of these compounds are fatigue, headaches, respiratory diseases, irritation of the skin and mucous membranes, and allergies. There are plants that have a special ability to break down harmful substances in their environment.
• Formaldehyde breaks down - nephrolepis, pyrethrum, dracaena, ficus benjamin, pteroflower, ficus, diphenbachia.
• Xylene, toluene - nephrolepis, anthurium, ficus benjamina, diphenbachia.
• Ammonia - anthurium, arrowroot, ficus benjamina, dracaena, azalea.
And how do people affect plants?
Scientists dealing with water have found that water changes its shape, color and structure depending on external factors. It is interesting that these factors are human words, thoughts and feelings. Crystals of water were photographed subjected to, for example, the words "you are beautiful" and "you are stupid" - the results were amazing; in the first case, water crystallized to form beautiful regular crystals, in the second - no crystals formed at all.Yet man, animals and plants are mostly made of water. These experiences allow us to look at the relations we create with the animate world, including plants, in a different way.Other studies conducted in the mid-1960s proved that plants react to our thoughts, and more precisely to changes in the bioplasmic field. Backster's classic experiment today was to subject plants to a threatening situation. Cleve Backster was then a lie detector specialist. He had the idea to connect a Dracaena standing in his office to the detector. He thought the stimulus had to be strong enough, so he decided to set fire to his dracaena leaf. As soon as he thought about it, the detector began to work. As a result, Beckster found that the dracaena was responding to his thoughts. Later, he conducted many other studies, he discovered that fruit, fresh vegetables, mold, yeast, blood exhibit similar sensitivity. He also studied how plants respond to individual experimenters, who were divided into "good and bad"; even their entry into the room elicited a reaction.It turned out that plants react faster to negative than positive emotions. This may explain why some people have a "hand with flowers" and others are not successful gardeners. The above examples show that providing plants with water, nutrients and light is only the necessary minimum, that when planting them in a garden or apartment, we become responsible for them.
