The Secret Language of Plants From quiet flower beds to dense forests, plants are far from silent. Research over the past decades has shown that plants “talk” to each other using chemicals, subterranean networks, and even electrical pulses. A wounded plant may emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air that warn neighbors of herbivores. It may alter the chemicals in its roots to inhibit nearby competitors or to recruit helpful microbes. Below ground, mycorrhizal fungi weave the roots of multiple plants into an “information highway” that transmits nutrients and alarms. Even electrical signals can jump from leaf to leaf: recent experiments show that a heat or wound signal in one plant can flow through a drop of water (or even a copper wire) into a touching neighbor, triggering defense responses. Taken together, these channels form a complex signaling network . In effect, plants employ a sort of “language” – made of chemical “words,” electrical “pings,” and shared fungal t...