Study uncovers secret ‘language’ plants use to warn other plants when in danger

By Melissa Klein, New York Post, October 5, 2019

https://nypost.com/2019/10/05/study-uncovers-secret-language-plants-use-to-warn-other-plants-when-in-danger/

Plants, Shutterstock Photo

Your plants may be talking behind your back!

A new study by Cornell University professor Andre Kessler found that goldenrod plants sent out messages through airborne chemicals called volatile organic compounds when they were in danger, according to the Cornell Chronicle.

Kessler looked at goldenrod that was under attack by a leaf beetle and discovered surrounding plants picked up on the warning messages so they could “ready their defenses.”

He said the plants “can fight back with pretty nasty chemistry.”

In some cases the plants only communicated with their closest kin, Kessler found in the 12-year study which was published in the journal Current Biology.

“We code our language if we want to keep it private, and that’s exactly what happens there, but on a chemical level,” Kessler told the Cornell Chronicle. “That analogy is striking and not what we expected.”