Plants have their own chatting networks

Thu, 27 Sep 2007

New research shows that far from being boring and passive, plants actually have an internal communications network where they can exchange information.

Josef Stuefer, researcher with the Vidi project, at Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands, along with colleagues discovered that clover plants have network links which enables them to warn each other of enemies nearby. For example if one plant if attacked by caterpillars, other plants in the network by an internal signal. The plants can then strengthen their chemical and mechanical resistance making them less attractive to caterpillars.

This warning system means that plants stay a step ahead of their attackers hence limiting damage to plants.

However the downside is that viruses use the plant network to spread through the connected plants. If one plant becomes infected, so do the others.

Herbal plants such as strawberry, clover, reed and ground elder have naturally form networks. Plants are connected with each other by runners for certain periods of time. In a similar way to how computer networks operate, plants can share information using their internal networks.
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