Scientists have known for a while now that plants have their own ‘plant language.’ They are able to communicate with each other and send relevant messages about the environment. A quick Google search will uncover some interesting research proving this fact. If you didn’t know this, it might take a moment for it to sink in. As it turns out; plants are more sophisticated than some people realized.
Until recently, nobody thought it was possible to decode these messages. That is all changing now thanks to a European research project. According to YouTube, biologist Stefano Mancuso said, “Plants are able to sense the gravitational field, electrical fields, chemical gradients, etc. This huge amount of information exchanged by plants is there, why shouldn’t we use it? We just have to find out how to decode it, and then make it intelligible.”
It’s more than just analyzing the electrical signals exchanged by plants. Stefano explains that plants actually have their own vocabulary since each communication is specific and can be charted to represent what that plant is feeling about the environment. Once this code is cracked, Stefano says it will be like having a “Rosetta Stone for plants.“
The team in Florence is using high tech, geeky sensors to evaluate each aspect of the environment. They are then analyzing how plants make decisions about what to communicate to other plants regarding that information.
I’m the first to admit that talking about plants as decision-making organisms is odd. If they can make decisions, that would imply they can think, which is bizarre to consider. You can read more about the details of this research on PLEASED (PLants Employed As SEnsing Devices).
I really only have one question about this. If it’s possible to decode plant language, how come nobody has successfully decoded dog language? I know which bark means which emotion, but I want to know more specifically what Daffy is saying to me when he does his dog-talking thing. Hopefully that will be coming soon too…
Sources: Treehugger / EuroNews
Photo Credit: Euronews Knowledge
YouTube: Who’s Speaking? Your Plant! Decoding the Language of Flora – Futuris
