NATURE: What Plants Talk About

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SN: I'm taking a little break from my project postings. xD Here's a side-reading I came across. Project posts will continue next week.

While watching TV around 7 PM, a NATURE's program called "What Plants Talk About" appeared on 04.3.2013. After watching it for a few minutes, I was hooked into watching the whole show! I also learned a few interesting facts about plants. xD

From what I understand, some researchers are studying how plants behave and communicate when they don't appear to have a nervous system or brain. Throughout the show some researchers have shown that plants may have communication skills that are similar to humans.

Such communication skills are:

• chemical release
• selection for survival
• community sharing

Chemical Release

• Plants may release chemicals to tell how they react to certain circumstances. For example, the smell of freshly cut lawn grass is a chemical smell a plant may release into the air to say that it needs help. (Yes, it does need help since we just mowed down half or more of the grasses' body.)
• They can send chemical smell to the air to ward off their enemies. Some smells may call other animals to come and take on the plants' enemies. One interesting plant was the wild tobacco on how it switch pollination.
• Some plants could release chemicals to gain territories underground for nutrients.

Selection for Survival

• Plants may speed up or slow down their growing roots system. It is researched that a root may speed up if it catches a wind of nutrients nearby, and it would slow down growing its roots and absorbs the nutrients before moving on.
• It seems some plants prefer certain plants if they want to survive, such as plants that needs a host to survive.
• Plants like lupinus or lupin do well against invasive plants. Lupin can release chemicals that could help stop invasive plants from colonizing their territory or nutrients.

Community Sharing

• Plants may be able to identify and share nutrients if they can tell who are their siblings or family. This may be possible by identifying their kind through chemical smell that's release.
• Some mother trees can nurture their own kind. A mother tree could give its carbon to fungi plants; thus fungi plants return the favors by giving the mother tree some nutrients through root channels. Older trees may provide more roots and connections for a larger communication sharing.

I wonder what more can we learn from studying plants and their behavior. Keep researching researchers! Well, I pretty much sum up what this movie is about, but do go watch it. xD The pretty pictures and detailed information in the movie will give a lot more explanations than what I can recall from memory. *_*b

Lastly, here's a preview of the show:

Watch What Plants Talk About on PBS. See more from Nature.

You can check out more at NATURE's homepage, or view NATURE's Program in full, preview, or short episodes.