Plant communication

Plants have many ways to talk to each other and to other living things around them. They face problems like sickness, cold or hot weather, being eaten by animals, and getting hurt. To stay safe and healthy, plants have developed special ways to share information quickly.

One way plants communicate is by releasing tiny chemicals into the air. These chemicals are called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs for short. They can tell other plants, insects, fungi, and even tiny creatures in the soil what is happening. For example, some of these chemicals can warn nearby plants that they might be in danger, or they can attract helpful insects that can protect the plants.

Terpenoids are a big group of these special chemicals. They help plants talk to many different kinds of living things. Some terpenoids can attract helpful insects, while others can scare away harmful ones. For instance, certain pine trees make chemicals that attract some beetles but scare away others. These chemicals are very important for helping plants survive in a changing world.

Plants use two main pathways to make these chemicals, and they all start with small building blocks called isoprenoid units. These pathways help plants create a huge variety of messages to use in different situations.

Electrical signaling

Plants can send electrical signals from their leaves to their stems and roots to communicate. Scientists have studied this since the late 1800s, noticing that some plants show patterns similar to animal nerves. These signals help plants respond to things like damage, extreme temperatures, and dry conditions.

Plants use two main types of electrical signals. One is called an action potential, which works in an "all or nothing" way, similar to signals in animals. The other is a variation potential, which is slower and can trigger several action potentials. These signals travel through special plant tissues and can help plants react quickly to threats, such as being eaten by an animal, by changing how certain genes work. This quick response helps the plant stay healthy.

Hydraulic signalling

In 2025, scientists learned more about how plants send signals over long distances using water pressure. They found that changes in water pressure inside plants can carry important messages. These pressure changes help plants respond to problems like drought or damage by affecting their growth and other processes.

Below-ground communication

Plants can talk to each other through their roots. They send signals to warn neighbors about problems like drought. When one plant feels stressed, it can let others know, and they can prepare too. This happens especially when plants share the same root system.

Plants also talk using special networks made by fungi called mycorrhizal networks. These networks connect plant roots and let them share things like carbon and nutrients. Scientists found that trees like paper birch and Douglas-fir can share carbon through these networks, helping each other grow better. This underground communication helps plants work together to survive in different conditions.

Acoustic communication

Plants can respond to sounds in the air and also make sounds that we cannot hear. These sounds are very high-pitched, called ultrasonic sounds, and some animals like bats, mice, and moths can hear them. In 2025, scientists at Tel Aviv University showed that plants make ultrasonic clicks that show how healthy they are. Moths use these clicks to find healthy plants to lay their eggs on.

Many grasses send out special smell signals when they get hurt, like when animals eat them or when they are cut. These smells, called green leaf volatiles, are what makes freshly cut grass smell so nice. These smells can warn nearby plants to get ready for danger or attract animals that might eat the insects hurting the plants.