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by Lydia Holley January 6, 2020
Do you think plants are just bystanders in an active world around them? Think again. The latest research shows plants can look, listen, talk, taste, smell, and even medicate themselves.
How do plants see? They see through special receptors in the tips of their stems. These receptors see wavelengths. Red and blue light are detected, and even some ultraviolet light that we are unable to see. When blue light is detected by the plant, it releases a growth hormone.
Plants talk to each other by emitting ultrasonic vibrations. These vibrations have been recorded during drought conditions. Other plants made these sounds when they were pruned. These particular vibrations are intensified when plants detect stress. For instance, most plants only made this particular sound about once an hour, but under stress, the vibrations increased up to 35 times. Additionally, the type of stress seems to make a difference in the number and volume of the vibrations. It is almost as if the plant was screaming.
How do plants smell without a nose? Through special receptors, plants can sense different scents. It is common knowledge that fruit will ripen faster if exposed to ethylene gas. Scientists now know that the ripening is caused by the odor of the ethylene gas. Since ethylene gas is naturally released when fruit ripens, exposing fruit to the gas makes it believe that it is time to ripen. Fruit likes to ripen all at the same time in order to be eaten and its seed dispersed. Ripening late might mean it would be left behind, and its seed left unused.
Acacia trees use ethylene to warn against giraffes. To combat being eaten, when the tree smells ethylene, tannins are released into the leaves, which will sicken their predator. Scientists believe this is why giraffes forage over a large range – to move past the area in which the neighboring trees have been alerted.
But what about medication? Do plants help each other? The answer to both questions is yes. Up to twenty percent of energy from a plant’s photosynthesis is used to make chemicals for their root system. Nitrogen from the air is converted through the use of these chemicals.
Roots also use mycorrhizae, a type of fungus. This underground fungus actually brings nutrients to the plant. One study found that sheared grasses produced these chemicals at double the normal rate. Scientists found these chemicals enticed the mycorrhizae to transfer nitrogen to the plant, which was needed for the grass to grow back.
Some roots reach for antibiotic-producing microbes, or generate antimicrobials to fight against disease and infection. This is why soil structure is so important. It can house microscopic organisms that are powerful. Some soil bacteria are so potent it can counteract the antibiotic-resistant MRSA bacteria.
A plant’s roots fight against plants it does not like, and help those that it has a kinship with. Scientists have found that mother trees transfer sugars to young trees that are growing in too much shade to produce adequate photosynthesis.
The next time you walk outside, look around. You may not be able to see a plant feeding its baby, talking to its friends, or being thankful for the sunlight, but that just might be what they are doing.
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