The Sound Of Plants

I think this is a fascinating discovery. I would love to have one of those to compare various plant species as well as the same plants in different conditions. It would be soooo much fun!

I want to hear a mushroom sing.

Will it sound like Pavarotti, or Klingon?

(every physical thing that exists vibrates at a different frequency. Vibrations are what sound is made of, so everything sings)

The middle one is a mushroom.

FayetheAspie said:

The middle one is a mushroom.

Click to expand...

Yes. It seems to be a soprano .

Google had this years ago,...

Oh my gosh! That is beautiful!
I think I like the Dandelion best. But, oh yes, wouldn't one of those soundwave machines be great to have?

I've always wanted an XRF analyzer for studying the composition of rocks.
(Expensive.)
I wonder what sounds stones and crystals make.
Only goes to show what lies beyond our limited physical spectrum of abilities to see, hear and feel.

Crossbreed said:

Google had this years ago,...

Introducing Google Tulip

Click to expand...

Google Tulip

Back in the 70s, a book called "The Secret Life of Plants" was published (Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird).

The author's claimed that they were able to hook up lie detectors to plants, and, when the plants were about to be damaged, showed a "spike" in readings, apparently indicating that plants it's are aware of their surroundings.

The actual results are questionable - nobody was able to replicate the experiments.

However, it started a fad in playing music to plants in an attempt to get them growing faster and stronger.

The fad continues to this very day:

FayetheAspie said:

Google Tulip

Click to expand...

(That is why I included the winky...)

If you've ever seen the Avatar movies, they touch upon this concept of this communication network in nature. I am not sure if the creators of the Avatar movies modeled this after what actually happens in nature on Earth, or not, but to be certain, trees do communicate with each other. In nature, in a typical forest, the "mother" tree will send nutrients to their "children" in times of stress via the mycelial network.


Come to find out many, if not all plants, will emit sounds when under stress. Whether one is out in the yard cutting the grass or pruning bushes, whether one plant is under attack by insects or caterpillars, sounds will be emitted and heard by the nearby plants. Those "warning" sounds, then trigger defense mechanisms in other nearby plants.

My grandfather, a poor farmer from Finland, came to the US in the early 1900's, and taught me quite a bit about plants in general, but also how to do it sustainably, working with nature. I really, really miss the man. I loved spending time with him in the garden and greenhouse. I can't say that about many people. He was a true mentor to me. I have had a long special interest in plants of all sorts. The biodiversity is amazing. I have quite a collection of plants, myself. Each one, I treat with the sort of attention, love, and respect I would to another person. It's really a sad day when one of my plants die, so I do my best to learn as much as I can and make sure they have their best life.

Now, with this new information, I have a lot more respect for not only plants, but the mycelial network and mushrooms.

Suzanne Simard wrote the book on mycelia networks. Finding the Mother Tree. She devoted her whole life to that research.

The concept for the movie "Avatar" was inspired by her work.