rally the troops

clovers
Originally uploaded by brick red

Growing up I always thought that plants were kind of boring. They didn't do anything and, as opposed to animals, they didn't make any kind of connection with me. Little did I know, plants can communicate - with each other.

Clover plants warn each other via the network links if enemies are nearby. If one of the plants is attacked by caterpillars, the other members of the network are warned via an internal signal. Once warned, the intact plants strengthen their chemical and mechanical resistance so that they are less attractive for advancing caterpillars.

How cool! I've gotten more interested in plants over the years, for various reasons (growing stuff is fun and rewarding, taking photos of plants is easier than photos of animals and other things that move a lot, etc.). This communication thing is just plain neat.

via Boing Boing