Found out some plants can 'hear' caterpillars chewing and it blew my mind

I was reading a study from the University of Missouri about how some plants, like thale cress, can sense the specific vibrations of a caterpillar eating their leaves. They then make more mustard oils to try and keep the bugs away. I mean, I knew plants reacted to stuff, but the idea they can basically 'hear' an attack is wild. Has anyone else come across other facts about plant senses that seem almost sci-fi?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_drew1mo agoMost Upvoted

It's wild how much we miss by assuming things around us are just passive.

the_thea1mo ago

Yeah, that's a solid point from @the_drew. Makes you wonder what we're actually ignoring every day. Like, do we ever stop to think about what a tree is actually doing, or do we just see it as a green thing that's there? Kind of a trip when you really sit with it. Feels like we're trained to see the world as a bunch of background props.

the_susan16h agoMost Upvoted

Have you ever tried just sitting with one thing for like five minutes without doing anything else? I did this with a houseplant once, just watched the way the leaves moved in the air current from the vent. It sounds silly but I started noticing tiny details, like how the light hit the dust on the leaves and how it was slowly turning toward the window. Your mileage may vary but it kind of changed how I see my whole apartment now, like everything has its own little life going on that I just tune out.