Do you believe that plants always prefer silence? Have you ever noticed their response to nature when you walk in a garden or amidst the first? You can definitely experience the reaction to specific environmental changes. How do they behave when they are stressed due to environmental impacts? Will they cry and respond like us?
Recent studies have unveiled a captivating aspect of plant behaviour. Did you know that plants emit sounds beyond our hearing range when they’re stressed? In fact, scientists have managed to capture these ultrasonic frequencies. This revelation could potentially transform our knowledge of plant communication, a phenomenon that’s as intriguing as it is fascinating.
The sounds made by the plants are clear evidence of acoustic interactions because scientific studies say that, though the sound is not audible to the human ears, certain animals can hear it.
“Plants interact with insects and other animals all the time, and many of these organisms use sound for communication, so it would be very suboptimal for plants to not use sound at all,” says Lilach Hadany, an evolutionary biologist.
A Few Fascinating Plant- Facts
- Centuries ago, Charles Darvin proposed a plant-brain theory. This theory suggested the existence of a brain-like structure at the root of the plant. However, this theory was disproved later.
- Plants can communicate. Researchers state that plants respond to each other with specific signals.
- The leaves, roots, stems, and shoots of a plant move in constant rhythmic motion. External factors such as light, water, temperature, stress, etc., influence the motion.
- Chemicals and sound are two essential mediums of communication in plants.
- Some studies have shown that plants can yield more by broadcasting sound waves to specific frequencies. Remember the old gardener’s saying, “Talk to your plants.”
- Plants demonstrate extraordinary adaptation skills in a unique way, allowing them to thrive in the most challenging environments. Welwitschia mirabilis, a plant found in the harsh Namib Desert, can endure for over 1,000 years, growing only two leaves that persistently expand throughout its lifespan.
- Pitcher plants and Sundews are carnivorous plants. They eat insects.
- The oldest known individual plant is a bristlecone pine tree named Methuselah, located in the White Mountains of California, USA. It’s estimated to be over 4,800 years old.
- Some fungi and algae exhibit the phenomenon called ‘bioluminescence’. They illuminate themselves when a particular chemical substance is present in them.
- Some plants produce powerful aromas under too much stress and even change colour and shape.
- Plants, in their quest for survival, have evolved many remarkable abilities. Some have even developed the skill to mimic the appearance or scent of other organisms for various purposes. Consider the orchid species Ophrys apifera, which resembles a female bee to entice male bees for pollination.
