Do plants have something to say?
Dr Jordan DowellWe often think of plants as organisms left on their own to survive. Seemingly still and unable to make any noise they managed to fight with the rollercoaster of evolution. But plants talk to each other. So, what do they talk about?
Learn about this Garden Talk
When walking into nature, we often hear the water flowing in a river, birds singing, or another wild animal expressing itself. But we don’t often realise that there is a very vibrant but inaudible community out there constantly exchanging valuable information for their survival: plants.
Plants secretly talk to each other through their roots as well as invisible volatile compounds. They inform each other of potential threats, such as an infection or an insect, as well as collaborate on how to share resources. They even developed dialects. But sometimes collaboration may convert into competition for resources, at which point communicating with each other might not be in plants' best interest.
Jordan Dowell, a postdoctoral researcher of Plant Chemical Ecology & Comparative Biochemistry at the University of California Davis, will join us in the garden to translate the fascinating language plants adopt every day.
Talk outline
50 minutes
The Secret Life of Plants
About the Fellow
Dr Jordan Dowell is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Davis. He researches how plants deal with pests, pathogens, and more importantly each other.
Thank you notes from Garden members
The Secret Life of Plants Collection
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Plants wouldn’t have made it out of the water 450 million years ago if not for their collaboration with fungi. They are an ancient and extraordinary kingdom that exists everywhere. But if fungi are so essential, why are they so easy to miss?
We often think of plants as organisms left on their own to survive. Seemingly still and unable to make any noise they managed to fight with the rollercoaster of evolution. But plants talk to each other. So, what do they talk about?
