When a plant is sad, what do other plants do? Photosympathize…
Sci fi often predates reality. In the movie Avatar the Tree of Souls extensive network of roots interconnected all life allowing two way communication. In the last decade research has confirmed that plants communicate with each other above and below ground.
The moment one gives close attention to anything, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. Henry Miller
Suzanne Simard’s TED Talk “How Trees Talk to Each Other’ explained how nutrients are shared between members of the same species through an underground network of mycorrhiza. The mother or hub tree protects her seedlings with shade, supports their growth by sharing nutrients and passes wisdom from one generation to another.
When one tugs at a single thing in nature he finds it is attached to the rest of the world. John Muir
Peter Wohlleben wrote in The Hidden Life of Trees that trees had complex social lives when he discovered an old stump about 500 years old with no leaves. The neighbouring trees were sharing a weak sugar solution through the roots. Aside from nutrients, plants emit chemicals to warn other plants of insects or toxins to prevent overcrowding. Many communicate through electrical impulses, like us.
This week you see a tree, remember that it, like you and I are interconnected to the whole.
Learn character from trees, values from roots and change from leaves. Tasneem Hameed
