PLANT DEGREE OFFERED TO `FERN PHYSICIANS'

PLANT DEGREE OFFERED TO `FERN PHYSICIANS'

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Wireless Flash) -- Sick plants will have their own physicians to turn to in the near future thanks to the first- ever "doctor of plant medicine" program. The new program at the University of Florida trains students how to be the plant equivalent of a family doctor. Graduates will be able to treat sick sycamores and failing ferns, and perhaps even dispense advice such as "take two fertilizer tablets and call me in the morning." Although the new profession could result in malpractice suits from grieving gardeners, department director Dr. George Agrios says the relatively low value of most plants should keep folks from suing plant docs for purely monetary reasons.