The tree can also recognize the same kind

A US study shows that white wormwood can communicate with plants of the same species in the surrounding environment.

Identifying fellow beings is an important ability in nature. It allows animals to work together to survive. For example, female lions are ready to look after other mothers in the herd. Animals also need to recognize offspring related to them to avoid mating with each other.

However, scientists find very little evidence that plants recognize each other and that evidence is controversial. Some experiments show that if two other species of plants grow close together, their roots will compete fiercely for water and nutrients. So what will happen if two species of the same species grow close together?

In a recent study, scientists from the University of California (USA) and Kyoto University (Japan) demonstrated that some plants have the ability to recognize congeners in their surroundings. They planted two cuttings from a white wormwood (Artemisia tridentata) near the mother tree. White wormwood is a species that is unable to produce the next generation by asexual reproduction pathway.

White wormwood.(Photo: Nazflora.org)

When the tree is big, the team cuts a few leaves on each tree in a way that pests often do. After a year they found that they were less likely to eat leaves from insects than the surrounding plants. Experts said that white worm somehow warned each other when an attack occurred to protect itself, but they did not give warning signals to other species .

' We were very surprised. Research results show that plants can perform much more complex behaviors than we think , 'said University of California scientist Richard Karban.

Karban suggests that two white wormwood communicate with volatile chemicals. When the leaves on a tree are eaten by insects, it releases those chemicals into the air to warn of the same type. After receiving the warning signal, the surrounding plants secrete toxins to protect the leaves, or change the position of the stem and leaves to minimize the level of damage.

The team acknowledged that the argument would be controversial, because two white wormwood plants in the study had identical gene versions (because they were extracted from a mother plant). The situation may be different if they have different gene versions.

' But one thing is for sure, white worm has the ability to distinguish people from other plants. There are many ways to explain that possibility. I hope other scientists will conduct research to uncover the mystery , 'Karban added.