Do Plants "Talk"? Fascinating Discoveries in Plant Communication

I recently read this really interesting article that just blew my mind about the way I should think about plants. While I have always realized that they are crucial in life on Earth,I also knew the fact that music affects their growth and development, but that they communicate talking to each other was beyond imagination. So, here go some amazing facts that I came to know and thus couldn't resist sharing.

Through it all, scientists have learned that plants actually do talk to each other through chemical signals and even sound.
So we have :

1. The Language of Chemicals
Plants use their roots to release chemicals, warning other plants around them about impending dangers, such as insect attacks or droughts. When under attack many plants release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air. These compounds act as distress signals, warning neighboring plants to prepare for an imminent attack or to attract pollinators. For example, acacia trees emit chemicals that alert other nearby acacias to increase the production of tannins, which make their leaves less appetizing to grazers, or with their bright colors and sweet scents, are effectively shouting, “Come here!” to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.

from the guaridan.com Illustration of above ground interactions between neighbouring plants by light touch and their effect on below-ground communication. Photograph: Elhakeem et al (2018)

2. The Underground Internet
The other amazing thing is "Wood Wide Web". Under ground there is network of fungi called mycorrhizae. These fungi connect the roots of plants, forming a vast underground communication system. Through this network, plants can share resources like water and nutrients. What’s even more remarkable is that they can use it to send distress signals.

From article : Perspective: Exposing belowground plant communication

3. Well, for me the most fascinating thing is that they might even "talk" through sound!
Studies suggest that some plants emit high-frequency noises when they are under stress. this sounds, inaudible to human ears but detectable with special equipment could serve as a distress signals, warning other plants to prepare for bad conditions. This astonishing finding was covered by an article from The Guardian (source: The Guardian), citing research by Tel Aviv University.

Robert Krulwich/NPR

For me This information is truly mind-blowing.

It is a kind of communication out of this world, if you think about plants networking, sharing information, and silently collaborating to keep their ecologies in the way they survive and flourish. It makes me reflect upon how much there is still to be learned from nature. At least I have to learn.