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Yes, some researchers say, plants do talk to each other

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In “Scientists Confirm that Plants Talk and Listen To Each Other, Communication Crucial for Survival” (Medical Daily, June 11, 2012), Christine Hsu reports,

While it has been long known that plants grow towards light, previous research from Exeter University found cabbage plants emitted methyl jasmonate gas when their surfaces are cut or pierced to warn its neighbors of danger such as caterpillars or garden shears.

Researchers from the earlier study also found that the when the volatile gas was emitted, the nearly cabbage plants appeared to receive the urgent message that and protected themselves by producing toxic chemicals on their leaves to fend off predators like caterpillars.

However, new research, published in the journal Trends in Plant Science, has revealed that plants not only respond to sound, but they also communicate to each other by making “clicking” sounds.

The world around us is, it seems, full of information.

It will be interesting if plants turn out to be as able to share information as most insects. Will we have films like Plantz, as well as Antz?

Oh, and by the way, the “tree of intelligence” is now ground cover, like the “tree of life.”

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