A closer look
Green leaf volatiles are organic chemical compounds released by plants when they suffer physical tissue damage, which is the exact scientific source of that famously pleasant scent of freshly cut grass; this aromatic emission is actually a distress signal functioning as a botanical defense mechanism, designed to warn neighboring vegetation of incoming danger and, in some cases, to attract predatory wasps to attack the herbivores eating the grass; every suburban dad proudly marching back and forth across his lawn on a Sunday morning is entirely oblivious to the fact that he is basically inhaling the chemical screams of a thousand violently mutilated plants, turning mundane yard work into an invisible, fragrant botanical massacre
