Plants talk but we can’t hear them

[gwand]

Scientists Discover Plants “Scream” – We Just Couldn’t Hear Them Until Now

Scientists have discovered that many plants emit faint ultrasonic clicks when distressed.

scitechdaily.com

 

[GaryE]

We're an awful, pompous species sometimes. If we haven't evolved the ability to hear something, we think it doesn't exist. It rarely occurs to us that it's out of our league, senses-wise.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I'll just throw this on here.

 

[anewbie]

I wish my plants would talk to me in my own language.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Mine speak a polygenetic pidgin of Swahili, Nepali, Burmese, English and Mandarin.

 

[anewbie]

Mine speak a polygenetic pidgin of Swahili, Nepali, Burmese, English and Mandarin.

Well your plants are a *lot* smarter than mine.

 

[GaryE]

Oh, that was roots music.

Some of the invasive plants here have accents from the US south. Can't understand a word they say. What is a yaawwwllll? The Mainer plants are wicked bad to figure out too. And the Midwest plants? By the time they get through their vowels, it's winter again. If only plants had decent Newfoundland accents.

 

[Back in the fold]

Very interesting .

 

[gwand]

The humor is amusing but I do think plants and trees have a form of consciousness. They are aware of their surroundings and communicate amongst themselves. I say this with the backing of hard science. Sometimes I think we should only eat fruit and nuts. These can be harvested without taking a life.

 

[Back in the fold]

The humor is amusing but I do think plants and trees have a form of consciousness. They are aware of their surroundings and communicate amongst themselves. I say this with the backing of hard science. Sometimes I think we should only eat fruit and nuts. These can be harvested without taking a life.

I think so too . I saw a show on PBS about aspen trees communicating through a fungus web in the top soil . All of life here on our wonderful Earth is interconnected in some way or another and it is really a shame what industry and politicians are doing to kill and destroy it . Eventually , somewhere down the road , I think that the natural world is going to correct itself and humans are going to be the losers in that correction .

 

[Uberhoust]

The humor is amusing but I do think plants and trees have a form of consciousness. They are aware of their surroundings and communicate amongst themselves

I tend to agree, there are definitely chemical communication pathways, and according to some sources there is some communication amongst trees using mycorrhiza. More recently I came across the thought that all matter has some aspects of consciousness. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-consciousness-part-of-the-fabric-of-the-universe1/

 

[GaryE]

We can't define consciousness or intelligence. I think the idea really scares a lot of people. Assuming we don't wreck our civilizations with war or markets, I would love to be here in 100 years just to see where our understanding will be. We're barely 150 years since The Origin of Species dropped a big 'uh oh' onto some old attitudes. It appears we're starting to make some headway now.

It seems to me that like every other animal on the planet, as well as every other life form, we can't escape killing or consuming intelligent life forms. I eat my scavenger/hunter gatherer diet - tonight eggs, and vegetables. The cheese in there isn't ancient, but the idea is an old one.

My dog doesn't watch The Price is Right, likely seeing nothing of interest in it. I get that, even if like with me, a bouncing ball in a sports event will catch her eye. But when she's sniffing along the road, she's collecting information I'm not equipped to. My fish see in wavelengths my brain can't process. And those mycorrizha studies are exciting.

Hey, now I know if I don't properly water my tomato plants, they are going to complain to each other. They aren't likely to produce sounds if they don't receive them too, though I think more study of their reactions would be worth it. Someone out there is working on that, while the scared people nominate them for ignobel prizes.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I think in the case of this study, "screaming" is pretty sensationalistic. Reading the article at face value, we don't know in this case (as we do in others) if the plants are actually communicating, or if dehydration is merely causing cavitation sounds through some unknown process. Since the study in question seems to be three years old, I'm guessing it was something of a dead end that way...but it's still interesting. I wonder if there's an app on my phone that can catch those ultrasonic sounds so I know when I need to water.

 

[GaryE]

@WhistlingBadger that's the danger with superficial journalists, the 'screaming' line. In this case, noises are made, but my body makes noises that aren't for the purposes of communication too. The root system studies seem to be on a different level. But this isn't an area that's going to get tons of funding.

Imagine, eh? The bush you get wood from for your bows complains, as does the arrow source. Then, they're used to kill an intelligent (in its own terms) antelope. There's a very strong possibility we're permanently bulls in china shops.

 

[gwand]

If

@WhistlingBadger that's the danger with superficial journalists, the 'screaming' line. In this case, noises are made, but my body makes noises that aren't for the purposes of communication too. The root system studies seem to be on a different level. But this isn't an area that's going to get tons of funding.

Imagine, eh? The bush you get wood from for your bows complains, as does the arrow source. Then, they're used to kill an intelligent (in its own terms) antelope. There's a very strong possibility we're permanently bulls in china shops.

if you want to explore this topic further I recommend reading The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. It’s full of good science. A more poetic take on this theme is The Forest Unseen by David George Haskell. A great blend of biological science, philosophy, and lyrical prose.