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Came across this informative article recently..

"Plants rely on sunlight to make their food, but they also need protection from its harmful rays, just like humans do. Recently, scientists discovered a group of molecules in plants that shields them from sun damage. Now, in an article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, one team reports on the mechanics of how these natural plant sunscreens work"

Attached is the journal article on which the article is based..

Dean, J.C., Kusaka, R., Walsh, P.S., Allais, F., & Zwier, T.S. 2014. Plant Sunscreens in the UV-B: Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Jet-Cooled
Sinapoyl Malate, Sinapic Acid, and Sinapate Ester Derivatives. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 136: , 14780−14795.

Edit: Cannot get .pdf to upload, will do so when problem is fixed

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[bloodysafety]

not all plants are immune to sunburn! put a shade plant in full sun and you see what im talking about! Ive killed a coca plant from too much sun and more than a few japanese maple! :2cents:

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If you read the article you will see that the authors at no point make the claim that all plants are immune to sunburn. Maybe the title of the article was a bit sensationalist and misleading. Rather, the published paper presents a mechanistic understanding of the biochemical dynamics involved in the screening of UV-B radiation.

Sorry I still haven't been able to attach the paper for further reading.

Thanks for your experience report and 2c. You're right, radiation can be harsh.

Regards 

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