Real-World Fantasy: Trees That Talk!

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Real-World Fantasy: Trees That Talk!

Posted on 28 September 2009 by Brent Hartinger, Editor

Yes! It’s true — trees do talk! And they’re really wise and take forever to say anything, just like the Ents in The Lord of the Rings (which I realize are technically not “trees”).

Okay, so no, maybe trees don’t talk like that exactly. But scientists have long known that some trees do “communicate” via the emission of certain chemicals that nearby trees can detect using photoreceptors.

For example, when some trees are eaten by certain pests, it triggers a response in the tree itself, releasing chemicals into its leaves that inhibits the thing that’s eating them; at the same time, the tree may also release pheromones or other chemicals (or possibly even electrical waves) into the air, to communicate to nearby trees to release the protective chemicals into their leaves.

What’s really interesting is that trees only release these chemicals if they’re being eaten — not if their leaves are merely torn or damaged.

Trees sometimes also communicate during forest fires. Trees can release chemicals communicating to other trees to change the composition of their bark, making it more heat-resistant.

But trees don’t just share bad news; other studies show that flowering trees communicate when exactly to go into bloom. In fact, simultaneous blooming is another defense mechanism, since it results in fewer flowers being eaten by predators than a drawn-out blooming season does.

And it’s not just plants communicating between themselves. When tobacco, for example, is attacked by caterpillars, it releases a chemical into the air that attracts a certain kind of wasp that eats the caterpillars. Some varieties of corn detect when they have root worm, which is a beetle larvae, and release chemicals that attract nematode worms that eat the larvae.

Still, it’s a far cry from the events of the M. Night Shyamalan movie The Happening, where the plants on earth all team up with each other to take out their number one nemesis: human beings.

Next week: all about that real-life species of apple tree seen in The Wizard of Oz that’s so stupid you can fool them into throwing apples at you with reverse psychology!