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When plants talk to each other, what do they say? Some of them compare notes on how to survive a drought and plants that have been subjected to a previous period of drought learn to deal with the stress thanks to their memories of the experience.

This discovery could lead to development of crops better able to withstand drought. This research also confirms what home gardeners and nursery professionals have often learned through hard experience: Transplants do better when water is withheld for a few days to harden them to drought before they’re moved.
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Sometimes it seems like plants are communicating–but this seems impossible. But biologists now say it’s TRUE–we just need to learn their "language."

Researchers added the protein luciferase (which makes fireflies glow in the dark) to the DNA of cabbage plants, so their emissions could be captured on camera. They suspected that a gas is emitted when a plant’s surface is cut or pierced–but does this gas communicate "danger" to nearby plants?
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Are plants aware of us–do they react to what we do? Biologist Elizabeth Haswell says, "Picture yourself hiking through the woods or walking across a lawn. Now ask yourself: Do the bushes know that someone is brushing past them? Does the grass know that it is being crushed underfoot? Of course, plants don’t think thoughts, but they do respond to being touched in a number of ways.

"It’s clear that plants can respond to physical stimuli, such as gravity or touch. Roots grow down, a ‘sensitive plant’ folds its leaves, and a vine twines around a trellis. But we’re just beginning to find out how they do it."
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