Buzz
Do you think of plants as just static, green beings we use for food and decoration? Think again! These living organisms have a lot more going on than you probably realize.
Humans have coexisted with plants for centuries, often seeing them as still, lifeless beings. It’s easy to assume they only grow, get eaten, or wither away. But plants actually do some incredible things. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
10. Communicating Through Their Roots
At first glance, trees seem calm and quiet—branches swaying gently in the breeze, animals nesting in their trunks. But beneath the surface, something remarkable is happening. It turns out that trees are having full conversations beneath your feet, thanks to an underground network of fungi that allows them to communicate with each other.
This fungal network supports plants in various ways. One study showed that tomato plants could use the fungal web to alert each other to a potential blight infestation. Another found that trees connected by this network could exchange nutrients with each other. Suzanne Simard of the University of British Columbia first discovered this in 1997, and she believes that larger trees even provide nutrients to smaller saplings to help them grow.
But that’s not all! Plants can also sabotage unwelcome rivals by spreading harmful chemicals through the fungus. In essence, trees are capable of sending messages, exchanging resources, and even sending ‘malware.’ It seems the plant world had the concept of the internet figured out long before humans did.
9. Sending Out an SOS
Living in a remote forest might seem like a lonely existence, but plants know how to ask for help when needed. Though they can’t move, they’re far from defenseless when it comes to dealing with herbivorous insects.
Some plants have a clever defense mechanism: when they sense they’re being eaten, they release a chemical into the air that attracts the insect’s natural predators. The predator swoops in and takes care of the bug, saving the plant. It's like calling in the older sibling to handle the bully who’s been taking your lunch money.
8. The Forest Made Of One Tree
Nature is full of surprises. Just when she has you believing that it takes several trees to make a forest, bam! You get hit with the largest cashew tree in the world, found in the city of Natal, Brazil. Planted in 1888 by a local fisherman, this tree covers about 7,500 square meters (81,000 ft) and has a perimeter of about 500 meters (1,600 ft). That’s about the size of 75 tennis courts. The Natal cashew tree currently holds the Guinness World Record for largest cashew tree in the world.
So what makes this tree so gargantuan? It has two unusual genetic traits that cause it to grow like it does. For one, the branches grow to the side instead of upward. The second anomaly is kind of freaky: The side-growing branches eventually get so heavy that they touch the ground. But instead of just resting there, the branches sprout roots. The newly rooted branch then starts growing upward as if it were a new tree. During harvest time, it’s estimated that the tree produces more than 60,000 cashew fruits.
7. Pando, The Sprawling Giant
Pando is another mind-boggling example of how nature can challenge your perceptions of what a single tree should look like. Found in Utah’s Fishlake National Forest, Pando appears to be 47,000 quaking aspens. However, all of these trunks are actually part of the same enormous root system, making them genetically identical. Pando reproduces asexually, sprouting new trunks as it grows.
Pando spans 107 acres and weighs 6,615 tons. It’s believed to be at least 80,000 years old, with some estimates pushing its age to a million years. Once thought to be the largest living organism on Earth, the title now belongs to the thousand-acre fungal mats in Oregon. The quaking aspens get their name because their leaves tremble with even the slightest breeze.
6. Plants Have a Sense of Smell
When we think of sharp senses of smell, animals like dogs and sharks come to mind. But plants also have an impressive sense of smell, which plays a key role in their survival. Botanist Daniel Chamovitz explains that plants can detect when their fruit ripens, when a nearby plant is cut down, or even when their neighbor is under attack by insects. The parasitic spiny dodder vine, for instance, can smell tomato plants. It grows toward the tomato, wraps around it, and gradually drains its nutrients, making it a nightmare for tomato growers.
How do we know for sure that the dodder vine is 'smelling' the tomato? Biologist Dr. Consuelo D. Moraes conducted an experiment where she placed a fake tomato plant and an empty pot on either side of a growing dodder vine. The vine didn’t grow toward either pot. However, when she placed a real tomato plant next to the vine, it grew toward it—even when the tomato was in the dark or out of sight.
5. Plants Have a Sense of Time
You may know that humans and animals operate on an internal clock called a circadian rhythm. But did you realize that plants have one too? This allows them to anticipate certain times of day, much like we do.
For instance, plants don’t just respond to the light of dawn. They 'know' that sunrise is approaching and prepare for it biologically. In a key study, researchers at the University of Cambridge discovered that plants use the sugars they produce to keep track of time. These sugars regulate the genes controlling the plant’s circadian rhythm. So, 'waking up with the petunias' is just as accurate as 'waking up with the chickens.'
4. No Snow, No Wheat
Imagine driving past a wheat field blanketed in snow during the winter. Would you expect the wheat to thrive when spring arrives? For a specific variety of wheat known as winter wheat, snow is crucial for surviving harsh winters. In fact, it can be even more beneficial than a heavy rainstorm.
Snow plays a vital role in retaining moisture in the soil and acting as an insulating layer for both the wheat and the soil, protecting them from the cold. Without snow, the frigid temperatures would damage the wheat’s delicate roots, causing the plants to wither and die just like they would in hot, dry conditions. So, for those unaware, winter wheat actually flourishes thanks to the snow!
3. Caffeinated Bees
You’re familiar with that caffeine addiction that keeps humans flocking to cafes for their coffee fixes? Well, it turns out bees are also hooked on caffeine. In fact, about 55 percent of flowering plants produce caffeine in their nectar. Bees are more attracted to this caffeinated nectar and get particularly excited about it.
In a study published in the journal Current Biology, researchers offered bees two nectar containers, one with caffeine added. Bees that drank the caffeinated nectar were more likely to perform the waggle dance upon returning to the hive, which they use to communicate the quality and location of the nectar. The bees danced more energetically after consuming the caffeinated nectar, suggesting that they perceived it as a higher-quality find than it actually was.
It’s no surprise that caffeine-producing plants attract plenty of bees, as these buzzing visitors give glowing reviews of their nectar. This guarantees that the plant's pollen will be widely dispersed.
2. Sensing Threats
The sea rocket plant is already quite peculiar with its fleshy leaves and its ability to thrive in beach sand. But that’s just the beginning. Even more fascinating is how picky the sea rocket is about its neighbors.
If the sea rocket detects a plant nearby that’s not related, it will grow aggressive roots that drain the nutrients from the soil. However, if the neighboring plant is a relative, the sea rocket holds back from its nutrient-sucking behavior. Quite remarkable, especially considering that many animals can’t even recognize their own family members.
1. Can They Actually See?
The concept of plants with vision isn't exactly a modern idea. Back in the early 1900s, Francis Darwin, the son of Charles Darwin, proposed that plants could possess light-sensitive cells similar to lenses. These cells, later known as ocelli, were identified, though they faded into obscurity for a while. In 2017, two plant scientists, Frantisek Baluska and Stefano Mancus, discovered that a certain type of single-celled bacterium acted like ocelli by sensing light. They speculated that, if such basic organisms could have this ability, then more complex plants likely retained such a useful feature.
There’s also new evidence suggesting that some plants, like cabbage, produce proteins linked to the creation of eyespots—extremely basic eyes found in single-celled organisms such as algae. Additionally, there are other fascinating plant abilities that remain mysterious, like how the climbing vine Boquila trifoliolata can mimic the color and shape of the plant it climbs. With the idea of 'seeing' plants making a comeback, the evidence supporting their capability to sense light is growing stronger.
