Grandma grew this potted plant and the whole house smelled fragrant, but then the neighbors all showed up at her door

Grandma is someone who especially loves fussing over flowers and plants. A while back, she grew this potted plant on the balcony, and after that the whole house smelled fragrant everywhere, really pleasant. But before long, the neighbors all showed up at her door one after another. What on earth was going on?

Actually, the potted plant Grandma grew on the balcony looks very ordinary, no different from the potted plants we usually keep at home, but its scent is especially fragrant. Grandma told me this potted plant is called pengpengxiang (Cuban oregano, Plectranthus amboinicus). Just like the sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica), whenever it is touched or stimulated, the water in its cells reacts, which changes the turgor pressure of the pulvinus, and then it releases fragrance.

However, although the two are somewhat similar, they are still two different kinds of plants. And there is one more difference between pengpengxiang and the sensitive plant: even when the leaves of pengpengxiang are affected by turgor pressure, they do not shrink. Instead, the stomata inside that are used for air exchange expand, producing a scent with an apple-like fragrance.

But probably because it was touched so often, its scent became especially strong. So when the neighbors smelled it and felt uncomfortable, developing allergy symptoms, they came knocking at the door. There was no other way, and afterward the pengpengxiang at home could only be passed on to my older sister's house.