The Social Structure of Plants

There is an old wives' tale about singing to plants to keep them healthy and glowing. I have always been skeptical of this concept, though, because plants lack a neural system. Our neural network allows us to transmit signals to be processed by our brain, whether they be sound waves that oscillate our chest cavity or the fine hairs of our ear canal. The only network located in a plant that I am familiar with are that of the xylem and phloem, but those only carry fluids and dissolved materials throughout the plant.

However, recent research has shown the intricate complexities that have evolved with our ridiculously distant relatives. Ethylene has been known to be released by plants to promote various cascade reactions depending on the plant. I remember reading once that some vegetables release similar chemical cascades when boiled (whether this is true or not is irrelevant to my main point, in the end). The author humorously posited that plants thus felt pain. This "pain" is obviously different then the "pain" the majority animals feel, but "life" is equally as differen for the plant then the animal.

Though the concept of plants having feelings or emotions are odd since they lack a nervous system, it is interesting to note that plants have the ability to recognize their siblings.

“The ability to recognize and favour kin is common in animals, but this is the first time it has been shown in plants” said Susan Dudley, associate professor of biology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. “When plants share their pots, they get competitive and start growing more roots, which allows them to grab water and mineral nutrients before their neighbours get them. It appears, though, that they only do this when sharing a pot with unrelated plants; when they share a pot with family they don’t increase their root growth. Because differences between groups of strangers and groups of siblings only occurred when they shared a pot, the root interactions may provide a cue for kin recognition.”

My question, like any good scientist, is how. How do plants recognize one another? Considering the lack of eyes, I am going to have to assume it is some chemical recognition. Perhaps the mechanism is in the roots? I am fairly certain leaves have been studied ad naseum concerning the gases they release. It is a shame I am unable to log onto my university library's resources at the moment. I would attempt to find the paper the article discusses and other papers relevant to discussing the social network of plants.

Though this doesn't change my perspective on my role in the predation of vegetables and fruits in my life, this find does suggest that plants are more sophisticated than naive reasoning allows.