According to a new study by Dr. David Johnson at the University of Aberdeen, plants communicate to each other through soil.
The study shows that when vegetables are infected with certain diseases, they alert other nearby plants to activate genes to ward off the disease when it heads their way. The key to this communication is a soil fungus that acts as a messenger.
Needless to say, plant-fungus symbiosis inspired this limerick:
A Fungus You can Grow To Like (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane
Plants talk to each other through dirt:
“You’re in danger!” through fungi, they blurt.
“Use your genes to resist
A disease in your midst,
And render this danger inert.”
