That garden bed you water and pull weeds from at least once a year is a living organism, just as the human body is a living organism. Scientists aren’t sure how advanced individual organisms in the body and soil work. Microorganisms and soil organisms live in that garden bed.
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Check PriceMost people view plants as basic decorations. However, while they may seem simple, plants are, in fact, very complex, highly intelligent biological organisms. Here are seven astonishing examples of everyday plants demonstrate amazing technology, beyond human understanding.
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1. Underground Internet Networks
Imagine that all your plants and the trees are all connected by a fungal network that is more advanced than the internet! Mycorrhizal fungi create road systems that connect different plants and trees and allow roots of different trees and plants to merge. This “traffic” allows plants to communicate and negotiate about the distribution of resources. They also warn each other about incoming pests through these networks. Also, they are able to give extra resources to their “children” in the network. “Mother trees” can provide food to younger trees that are in her network of fungal connections.
2. Chemical Warfare Laboratories
Mint seems to take over every herb garden. Before you get worried about the chemists plants produce ~200,000 unique chemicals, more than the most advanced laboratories. When plants are attacked, they create their own pesticides and toxins and release alarm pheromones. Some plants even recruit bodyguards by releasing a chemical signal to lure predatory insects to attack their assailants.
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3. Magnetic Navigation Systems
Plants have a unique ability to perceive the Earth's magnetic field. Sunflowers possess an extraordinary ability to follow the sun. In fact, their ability to track the sun rivals that of some satellites! Furthermore, plants have root systems that can find water using clues that we are only beginning to understand. In addition, seeds can sense gravity, enabling them to reach the Earth's surface even when surrounded by total darkness. The mechanisms they use are more precise than any of the most advanced manmade instruments.
4. Memory Storage Without Brains
Remarkably, plants can 'remember' events without having a nervous system! They document seasonal changes, periods of drought, and attacks by pests. Some plants can even 'remember' stressful experiences for months and prepare to defend themselves. Based on 'memories' of previous weather patterns, trees alter their growth strategies for years or even decades.
5. Real-Time Resource Management
Garden plants are operating sophisticated supply chains and logistics. They access and monitor their environment and adjust their growth in response. If there is a deficit of nutrients, water, light, or anything else they stop their non-essential functions. They do this more efficiently than our best computers.
6. Networks of Electrical Communication
Plants, like humans, produce and respond to electrical systems. When a leaf is injured, the entire plant responds by activating its protective systems. Some plants can sense the electrical fields produced by storms and will shut their leaves before it rains.
7. Soil Chemistry Manipulation
Like a small chemist in a lab, a lot of different changes happen at the roots of plants. With their roots, different plants do the same thing, and their lab alters the soil to suit their needs. One of the things that can happen is that roots excrete organic matter that has acid, and in that case, a few essential minerals can be dissolved. The pH levels in the soil can be modified to stop the growth of competitor plants, and in that case, the soil can become hostile to other plants. Additionally, roots can create a favourable environment for microorganisms, beneficial ones, that can live in the soil.
As you walk through your garden, appreciate the remarkable biological technology surrounding you. These organisms, which are more than just beautiful plants, have refined living systems through a process that has taken millions of years.
Your backyard has more advanced technology than in most sci-fi movies! Yes, the alien invasion is already happening right in our gardens.
