Plants recognize their siblings, defend their territory against intruders, listen secretly and act, and calls for help if they are invaded, All these are possible through effective communication within or between plants.
COMMUNICATION IN PLANTS
Plants communicate with a great variety of symbolic patterns above and below the ground. Communication in plant is constant that involves monitoring of the signals that are biotic in their origin and abiotic environmental influences which enable the plants give appropriate response or behavior. This type of communication are primarily sign-mediated interaction which occur through chemical medium and not probably by oral means just like in man.
Plant communication is more of active co-ordination & organization of rate and different behavioral patterns mediated by signs through chemical medium. Communication processes can be within, among cells, tissues and organs of plant usually as sign mediated interaction.
Generally plants are viewed and treated as growth automation i.e. like robots without control, thinking or feeling. However, they co-ordinate in growth and development only by signs functioning as signals, messenger’s, information carrier and memory medium which maybe in gas, liquid or solid in other to ensure proper co-ordination.
Plants are sessile but very sensitive organisms that are actively competing for environmental resources below and above the ground surface. They access the surrounding and estimated the amount of energy that will be needed for a particular goal. They also perceive themselves and can distinguish between cells and non-cells, this capacity enable them to protect their territory against intruders by developing a defensive mechanism pattern.
This write-up is concern majorly on how plants communicate with other plants.
Plants are capable of distinguishing self from non-self, the context of defense behavior, defense activities are initiated against foreign roots which enable them to protect their own root zones against intruders. It is important to note that plant are not as passive as they might seems, but active, they develop certain strategies to stay alive by evolving use of chemicals to communicate with each other in order to live.
image source: awkardbotany.com
SOME PLANT BEHAVIORS THAT SHOWS THEIR ACTIVENESS:
PLANT CALLS FOR HELP
When you cut fresh grass or flowers, the smell you perceive is actually that of distress which is a call from the plant for help. E.g. the scent or the odour you perceive attracts the things that will attack or eat up whatever is disturbing them. A typical example of this is a plant commonly called wild tobacco identify horn-worm caterpillar by its saliva when this is perceived , the tobacco plant emits chemicals that serves as a signal which attracts or appeals to the horn worm enemy such as the big-eyed bug but and within short period the predator shows up and drives the pest away.
PLANT LISTEN SECRETLY
Wow this is amazing! Plants listen secretly to chemical signals of their types (brother and sisters) and sometimes respond to another plant crying for help by preparing for their own defensive means because they know that an enemy is around them. It has been discovered that plants increase their defense after their neighbors have been damaged/destroyed. E.g. when sage bush is wounded by horn worm, sage bush release defensive protein (trypsin proteinase inhibitors) that inhibits or hinder protein digestion there by resulting into stunt growth. When neighbors or other species are exposed to the chemical signal of the damaged sage bush, they start preparing their defenses. In this case wild tobacco perceives the distress call of sage bush and quickly organizes for an enemy against the horn-worm.
PLANT DEFEND THEIR TERRITORY
Plants compete with each other for survival, light position etc. knap wheat plant root release certain chemical signal to help in the uptake of nutrient from the soil but kill off-grasses. This enable the knap wheat to occupy a large area and getting rid of its competitors. Lupine root secret oxalic acid that forms a protective barrier against the toxic chemical from knap wheat root. Lupine can even protect other plants in same area from this attack.
PLANT RECOGNISE THEIR SIBLINGS
Generally plant sense when other plants are growing around them especially when they are competing for resources. However they recognize and support their siblings e.g. Sea rocket that grows closely together with their types having more restrained root growth than those grown with random strangers. The strangers in this place grow more roots in order to compete for food in a better form. However the siblings are more considerate to each other’s need. This sibling’s plant recognizes each other via chemical signals.
PLANT COMMUNICATE WITH NON-PLANT ORGANSIMS
Sign mediated interaction with organisms of other species; genera, families and organismic kingdom are vital for plants. They are almost always symbiotic or parasitic and range from mutually beneficial via neutral to damaging behavior. The different forms of symbiotic communication represent different pragmatic contexts and require a great variety of different behavior from the participating partners. This involves large numbers of complementary behavior’s which can be direct, indirect and also of mutual benefit.
Plant therefore is unique in its characteristics features and it unique communication pattern.