Plants That Know Their Own Kind

Read an interesting story in the NY TImes about the rocket flower. The rocket flower is a weed found around the Great Lakes area.

Like all weeds it has a tenacious nature which allows it to survive in less than ideal situations.  Scientists have found a unique characteristic of  rocket flowers. They help other nearby rocket flowers grow by sharing food and other nutrients in the soil. But if another type of plant comes along-watch out!  The rocket flower sends out new roots  to crowd out and choke the newcomer's food and water supply. So much for welcome to the neighborhood.

Other plants such as strawberry, sagebrush and thornapples are also able to recognize those of its own kind.  Groups of scientists disagree as to how the communication happens. They seem to agree plants have various ways of communicating and sensing their environment. But the idea of music preferences or language preferences is a bit too much to wrap the research theorems around at least for the present time.

I guess some of those scientists need to spend a little more time in the dirt and a little less time in the lab.

All in a gardener's day,