Can plants talk to each other

植物可以相互交談嗎？

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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.

植物能互相交流嗎？

看起來當(dāng)然不能。

植物不像動物一樣有著復(fù)雜的感觸神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)，

他們看起來被動得多，

曬曬太陽，

本能地吸收陽光和水分。

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.

盡管聽起來很玄乎，但是植物確實能相互交流。

像動物一樣，植物也會針對周圍環(huán)境，產(chǎn)生各種化學(xué)信號，

而且，它們還會相互分享這些化學(xué)信號，

尤其是當(dāng)它們處于受到侵犯時。

這些化學(xué)信號有兩種傳播途徑：

一個是通過空氣，

一個是通過土壤。

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.

當(dāng)植物葉子受到損傷，

如被饑餓的蟲子吃或者被除草機割時，

它們會釋放一縷縷揮發(fā)性的化學(xué)氣體。

這就是割新鮮草時我們聞到的氣味。

一些特定的植物，例如灌木蒿和利馬豆，

能夠檢測到這些空氣信息因子，

然后相應(yīng)地調(diào)節(jié)它們內(nèi)部自身的化學(xué)狀態(tài)。

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.

在一次實驗中，科學(xué)家用剪刀或讓蟲子故意破壞灌木蒿的葉子，

在整個夏天里，

在這株灌木蒿上的其他枝椏

被到處飛舞的昆蟲吃的相對較少。

周圍植株的葉子也同樣被昆蟲吃得少，

這表明它們的抗蟲性得到的增強。

甚至將剪除了葉子的植物周圍的空氣移給另外一株植物

也能增強這株植物的抗蟲性。

這些通過空氣傳播的因子有利于幼苗的存活，

而且還能使成熟植株生長出更多的枝椏和花朵。

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.

但為什么植物會給它的鄰居提示危險呢，

它們明明在競爭資源啊？

或許這只是個自我防御機制的偶然結(jié)果——

植物不能像我們一樣隨意通過身體傳播信息，

尤其是當(dāng)水資源缺乏時，

植物也許能依賴于這些空氣信息因子，

從植株的這一部分傳到信息到另一部分。

附近的植株能探測到這些信號，

就像偷聽到你鄰居在打噴嚏，然后你就開始囤積感冒藥。

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學(xué)語言傳遞這些警示信息，

同一牧場中的單體灌木蒿，

釋放稍有不同的預(yù)警化學(xué)物質(zhì)。

不同化學(xué)物質(zhì)的相互補充影響著交流的效率，

兩種植物釋放的化學(xué)物質(zhì)的特征越相近，

它們之間的交流就越順利。

一種植物對由它自身葉子釋放的化學(xué)物質(zhì)最為敏感，

但是這些化學(xué)物質(zhì)就像是被遺傳的，

像人類的血型，

灌木蒿和親屬之間的交流較陌生屬來說更為有效。

但有時候，其他種類的植物也能從中獲益，

西紅柿和煙草植物都能解析灌木蒿釋放的化學(xué)信號，

植物沒必要僅僅依賴于這些空氣“廣播”，

這些信號還能在土壤下傳播。

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關(guān)系，

這些真菌寄生在植物的根上，并幫助它們的吸收水分和營養(yǎng)。

這些真菌絲形成廣泛的網(wǎng)絡(luò)，

能在不同植物之間建立起聯(lián)系，

為化學(xué)信號傳遞建立一個地下超高速公路。

當(dāng)西紅柿通過激活抗病基因和酶對抗枯萎病時，

免疫系統(tǒng)產(chǎn)生的信號分子，

會傳遞到其他健康的植物上，

并刺激它也開啟免疫系統(tǒng)。

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.

這些高級預(yù)警機制能提升植物的存活機會，

豆類植物也能”偷聽“各自的健康狀態(tài)信息。

通過這些真菌渠道，

一株植物上蚜蟲的入侵

能激活它的鄰居產(chǎn)生大量的抗蚜蟲化學(xué)物質(zhì)，

將吃蚜蟲的黃蜂吸引過來。

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?

如果認為交流就是相互交換信息，

那么植物就是活躍的聯(lián)絡(luò)員，

它們收發(fā)信號以及作出相應(yīng)的反應(yīng)，

靜悄悄地，沒有聲音，

沒有大腦、鼻子、詞典和互聯(lián)網(wǎng)。

如果我們能學(xué)會用它們的語言和它們溝通，

我們就掌握了一個強有力工具去保護莊稼和其他重要物種。

這些讓你想起作為人類的我們?nèi)笔裁戳藛幔?/p>