Smells so good, it makes your mouth water

6th October 2024. Discovering a small piece of Australia and chocolate smells…

I think I have probably been sighted on my knees peering into the hedge with my binoculars back to front often enough now, that the locals no longer see me as a source of worried concern, and now regard me as part of the floral background or a reassuringly habitual eccentric. Indeed, for some, the day might not seem right, if I were not seen sporadically dropping into the grass, uttering some cry of delight and then scribbling in my notebook. Well, this is what I tell myself. People are no longer surprised when I tell them ‘What’ I am doing and rarely ask me ‘Why’.

If you were to ask me why I take my wildflower walks, I could give you a whole host of reasons and would likely never finish this blog. But one of the many delights is discovering the science, history, folklore, traditions and applications surrounding the plants I find. I have a natural curiosity about the world anyway, but plants are particularly special. Unlike our media-driven landscape where human lives are instantly displayed for all to see and digest, the life stories of plants are subtle and discrete. Generally tucked away in the roots we cannot see, the leaves we trample, the fruits we consume, the grass flowers we shred and the scents we inhale, as we pass by.          

These sensory references are intentional because I have noticed how much my senses are switched on when I am out exploring nature. I wrote an article about this earlier in the year, to share some of my experiences as an autistic woman (there is a link on my website if you are interested) – and I’ve been completely fascinated by the research I have come across. A Professor of Biodiversity in Oxford, for example, has recently published a book examining the multiple ways in which we experience nature through our senses and the positive impact it can have on us. It is brilliantly accessible, and I have just finished reading the chapter on smell.

[Water Mint is a plant with a fantastic smell. What a shame we do not yet have smellivision. It would add even more to this little video clip of a visiting bee]

Kathy, the book’s author, tells us that the smells we detect from plants are a result of chemicals known as ‘volatile organic compounds’, which are released into the air as a gassy cloud. When we smell them, some of their molecules pass into our lungs and then into our bloodstream, where they do various clever and chemical things (my technical term) and can cause effects not unlike those related to prescription drugs, such as reducing anxiety.

In fact, scents have been used throughout history for one reason or another and not only for medical purposes. As Kathy writes, some were used in Ancient Egypt as part of the mummification process (stuffing the body with cinnamon from specific trees to reduce the rotting smell), whereas others have been used in rituals, for perfumes and for beautifying.

Apparently, humans have the capacity to discern more than 1 trillion smells, but if you think that’s amazing, then you will be astounded by the discriminatory powers of your dog, should you have one. I have read that they can detect anywhere between ten thousand to one hundred thousand smells. And they smell separately with each nostril. Blimey.

So, all of this makes my recent visit to a local pond even more delightful, because I had my first encounter with a particular member of the mint family, whose smell made me think of dark chocolate. The volatile organic compounds in mints are called carvones and some have been associated with alertness and memory. Kathy doesn’t say that they make your mouth water but those from the Water Mint virtually made me dribble. And on that lovely note, I will leave you to your week and see you next time.

New Zealand Pigmyweed: might be considered one of nature’s bad boys/girls because it hangs out en masse in waterways, reservoirs or wet ground, and essentially suffocates what lies beneath (by depriving species of light and oxygen). Which is very ironic, given that New Zealand Pigmyweed was once sold by garden centres, as an ‘oxygenating plant’. It was initially discovered in Australia and New Zealand, but has since travelled around the world and, in the last 50 years, throughout the UK. As further testament to its undesirability, New Zealand Pigmyweed was the first aquatic plant to have been banned from sale in the UK (from April 2014) and is now on a global register for invasive species in eleven countries. I’ve seen it in several areas in the county during my wildflower walks and am mindful where I tread. It definitely knows how to make itself at home and is very good at hitchhiking.

Water Mint: is yet another plant with a name that tells us where we are likely to find it. In this case, we need look no further than the edge of a pond, ditch, lake, river, swamp or marsh, should we wish to find a whole crop of their purple loveliness. Assuming we are searching between the months of July to September, that is. My first encounter with Water Mint was at the pond featured in this week’s blog, and it was a very ‘sweet’ experience. The scent is not to everyone’s liking, though, maybe because it is so pungent. Some writers say it is sickly sweet, whilst others reckon it's one of the best summer smells. Personally speaking, I love it. To my nose, the leaves smell exactly like After Eight Dinner Mints and make my mouth water. Despite its smell, Water Mint apparently lacks the intensity of flavour as other mints and is therefore not particularly good for cooking. What it lacks in cooking intensity, however, it makes up for in height and spread – stretching up to 60cm and spreading far via its creeping runners.

References

Canal and River Trust (2020) New Zealand Pigmyweed. https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/things-to-do/canal-and-river-wildlife/canal-and-river-invasive-species/new-zealand-pigmyweed

Elizabeth Racine (2023) 13 Fun Facts About Your Dog’s Sense of Smell. https://www.carecredit.com/well-u/pet-care/how-well-can-your-dog-smell/

Kathy Willis (2024) Good Nature. Bloomsbury Publishing; Great Britian

Neil Fletcher (2010) Pocket Nature. Wild Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Limited; London

Sarah Raven (2011) Wild Flowers. Bloomsbury Publishing; Great Britain

The Wildlife Trusts (not dated, but I assume 2024) Water Mint. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/water-mint

Wikipedia (2024) Crassula helmsii. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crassula_helmsii