We all know that plants are alive, but we definitely don’t think of them as being alive the same way as people or animals are alive. After all, a plant definitelydoesn’t have a face, a brain, a heart, blood or any other mammal-like characteristics. Heck, plantscan’t even move!
Most of us never seek to understand just how complex of an organism a simple houseplant, a delicate flower or a huge tree really is. We may appreciate them for being a beautiful (and necessary) part of nature or for being a super nutritious food source, but anything past that is left mostly out of our understanding and awareness unless of course you’re a botanistor a super experienced gardener.
Want to enhance your appreciation for plant life? If you do, have a quick read through afew of these interesting plant abilities that other living things havetoo.
Plants can make calculated decisions based on risk.
Plants can’t move around like animals can, so that means they have to be able to carefully sense changes in their environment in order to make adjustments necessary for their survival. In arecent study, scientists examinedhow the garden pea plant would respond to different environments by plantingits roots between two different pots.
One pot hada constant nutrient leveland the other pot with a varying nutrient level. Although both pots had the same average nutrientlevel, the scientists found that after a 12-week growth period, some of the pea plants involved in the experiment decided to “gamble” by growing more of their roots in the varying pot while other risk-averse plants decided to stay with their steady pot.
Plants can store memories.
Ever wonder how plants are so good at syncing up with the seasons? Being able to detect the changing amount ofdaylight is one thing, but scientists now know that plants also figure out how to bloomand flower in response to seasonal changes by”remembering” previously experienced environmental conditions so that they can predict and prepare for change.
Prion proteins are what scientists think may be responsible for plant memory. A protein known asluminidependensthat helps plants shift their growth according to temperature and light might act likea prion, which at this point offers the best understandingof protein-based molecular memory.
Plants communicate with neighboring plantsand other organisms.
Plants can talk to each other, to insects and even to other mammals when they’re under threat or wounded. Threatened or wounded plants are known to release proteins that signal nearby plants to strengthen their defenses.
Some plants, such as the wild tobacco plant,will also release signalsto call for help from “good” predatorsto come destroy the “bad” pests. So, for example, if the wild tobacco plant detects signs of thehornworm caterpillar by sensing andidentifying its saliva on its leaves or stems, it will release a protein signal that appeals to the caterpillar’s enemies (other predatory insects) to come on over and get rid of them.
Plantscan see, smell, taste, feel and maybe even hear.
Plants actually have their own complex versions of seeing, smelling, tasting and feeling what’s presently in their surroundings to help them survive. According to scientist Daniel Chamovitz in an interview with Scientific American, plants can “smell” pheromones emitted by other plantsand then sync up to them by blooming or ripening along with them.
You probably already know that plants can actually bend toward the light too, suggesting that they can “see” where they can get the most light from. They can “taste” through their roots in a way that supportsroot-to-root communication with nearby relative plants, they can “feel” the temperature or weather conditions change using mechanoreceptors in their cell membranes. Some not-so-scientific experiments suggest they can even “hear” music in ways that might influence their growth.
So next time you take a stroll outside somewhere among the trees or next time you glance over at your favorite houseplant, consider how beautifully complex and astounding plants really are. They don’t exactly resemble humans, mammals or other mobile organisms, but they certainly do have their very own unique ways of sensing the world around them that we can sort of relate to on a very broad, survival-focused level.
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Photo Credits: Unsplash, Pixabay user Pexels, Pixabay user markusspiske
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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Baffling Ways Plants Are Kind of Like Humans
