Can plants talk to each other

植物可以相互交谈吗？

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Can plants talk to each other?

It certainly doesn't seem that way.

Plants don't have complex sensory or nervous systems like animals do,

and they look pretty passive,

basking in the sun,

and responding instinctively to inputs like light and water.

植物能互相交流吗？

看起来当然不能。

植物不像动物一样有着复杂的感触神经系统，

他们看起来被动得多，

晒晒太阳，

本能地吸收阳光和水分。

But odd as it sounds,  plants can communicate with each other.

Just like animals, plants produce  all kinds of chemical Signals

in response to their environments,

and they can share those Signals with each other,

especially when they're under attack.

These Signals take two routes:

through the air,

and through the soil.

尽管听起来很玄乎，但是植物确实能相互交流。

像动物一样，植物也会针对周围环境，产生各种化学信号，

而且，它们还会相互分享这些化学信号，

尤其是当它们处于受到侵犯时。

这些化学信号有两种传播途径：

一个是通过空气，

一个是通过土壤。

When plant leaves get damaged,

whether by hungry insects or an invading lawn mower,

they release plumes of volatile chemicals.

They're what's responsible for the smell of freshly cut grass.

Certain kinds of plants,  like sagebrush and lima beans,

are able to pick up on those airborne messages

and adjust their  own internal chemistry accordingly.

当植物叶子受到损伤，

如被饥饿的虫子吃或者被除草机割时，

它们会释放一缕缕挥发性的化学气体。

这就是割新鲜草时我们闻到的气味。

一些特定的植物，例如灌木蒿和利马豆，

能够检测到这些空气信息因子，

然后相应地调节它们内部自身的化学状态。

In one experiment, sagebrush leaves were deliberately damaged by insects

or scissor-wielding scientists.

Throughout the summer,

other branches on the same sagebrush plant

got eaten less  by insects wandering through,

and so did branches on neighboring bushes,

suggesting that they had beefed up their anti-insect defenses.

Even moving the air from above a clipped plant to another one

made the second plant  more insect-resistant.

These airborne cues increase  the likelihood of seedling survival,

and made adult plants produce more new branches and flowers.

在一次实验中，科学家用剪刀或让虫子故意破坏灌木蒿的叶子，

在整个夏天里，

在这株灌木蒿上的其他枝桠

被到处飞舞的昆虫吃的相对较少。

周围植株的叶子也同样被昆虫吃得少，

这表明它们的抗虫性得到的增强。

甚至将剪除了叶子的植物周围的空气移给另外一株植物

也能增强这株植物的抗虫性。

这些通过空气传播的因子有利于幼苗的存活，

而且还能使成熟植株生长出更多的枝桠和花朵。

But why would a plant warn its neighbors of danger,

especially if they're competing  for resources?

Well, it might be an accidental  consequence of a self-defense mechanism.

Plants can't move information through their bodies as easily as we can,

especially if water is scarce.

So plants may rely  on those airborne chemicals

to get messages from  one part of a plant to another.

Nearby plants can eavesdrop  on those Signals,

like overhearing your neighbor sneeze and stocking up on cold medicine.

但为什么植物会给它的邻居提示危险呢，

它们明明在竞争资源啊？

或许这只是个自我防御机制的偶然结果——

植物不能像我们一样随意通过身体传播信息，

尤其是当水资源缺乏时，

植物也许能依赖于这些空气信息因子，

从植株的这一部分传到信息到另一部分。

附近的植株能探测到这些信号，

就像偷听到你邻居在打喷嚏，然后你就开始囤积感冒药。

Different plants convey those warnings using different chemical languages.

Individual sagebrush plants  in the same meadow

release slightly different sets of alarm chemicals.

The makeup of that cocktail influences the effectiveness of communication.

The more similar  two plants' chemical fingerprints are,

the more fluently they can communicate.

A plant will be most sensitive to the cues emitted by its own leaves.

But because these chemicals seem to be inherited,

like human blood types,

sagebrush plants communicate  more effectively

with relatives than with strangers.

But sometimes, even other species can benefit.

Tomato and tobacco plants can both decipher sagebrush warning Signals.

Plants don't have to rely solely on those airborne broadcasts.

Signals can travel  below the soil surface, too.

不同的植物用不同的化学语言传递这些警示信息，

同一牧场中的单体灌木蒿，

释放稍有不同的预警化学物质。

不同化学物质的相互补充影响着交流的效率，

两种植物释放的化学物质的特征越相近，

它们之间的交流就越顺利。

一种植物对由它自身叶子释放的化学物质最为敏感，

但是这些化学物质就像是被遗传的，

像人类的血型，

灌木蒿和亲属之间的交流较陌生属来说更为有效。

但有时候，其他种类的植物也能从中获益，

西红柿和烟草植物都能解析灌木蒿释放的化学信号，

植物没必要仅仅依赖于这些空气“广播”，

这些信号还能在土壤下传播。

Most plants have a symbiotic relationship with fungi,

which colonize the plants' roots and help them absorb water and nutrients.

These fungal filaments  form extensive networks

that can connect separate plants,

creating an underground super highway for chemical messages.

When a tomato plant responds to blight

by acitvating disease-fighting  genes and enzymes,

Signaling molecules produced by its immune system

can travel to a healthy plant

and prompt it to turn on its immune system, too.

很多植物和真菌有共生关系，

这些真菌寄生在植物的根上，并帮助它们的吸收水分和营养。

这些真菌丝形成广泛的网络，

能在不同植物之间建立起联系，

为化学信号传递建立一个地下超高速公路。

当西红柿通过激活抗病基因和酶对抗枯萎病时，

免疫系统产生的信号分子，

会传递到其他健康的植物上，

并刺激它也开启免疫系统。

These advance warnings increase the plants chance of survival.

Bean plants also eavesdrop on each other's health

through these fungal conduits.

An aphid investation in one plant

triggers its neighbor to ramp up production of compounds that repel aphids

and attract aphid-eating wasps.

这些高级预警机制能提升植物的存活机会，

豆类植物也能”偷听“各自的健康状态信息。

通过这些真菌渠道，

一株植物上蚜虫的入侵

能激活它的邻居产生大量的抗蚜虫化学物质，

将吃蚜虫的黄蜂吸引过来。

If you think of communication as an exchange of information,

then plants seem to be  active communicators.

They're sending, receiving,  and responding to Signals

without making a sound,

and without brains, noses, dictionaries, or the Internet.

And if we can learn to speak to them on their terms,

we may gain a powerful new tool to protect crops and other valuable species.

It all makes you wonder  what else are we missing?

如果认为交流就是相互交换信息，

那么植物就是活跃的联络员，

它们收发信号以及作出相应的反应，

静悄悄地，没有声音，

没有大脑、鼻子、词典和互联网。

如果我们能学会用它们的语言和它们沟通，

我们就掌握了一个强有力工具去保护庄稼和其他重要物种。

这些让你想起作为人类的我们缺失什么了吗？