Trying not to title this 'something like a phenomenon'
ā¦ And failing.
Plants! They do the darndest things!
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/19/the-sneaky-life-of-the-worlds-most-mysterious-plant/ - A plant that mimics other plants based on location.
A lot of the things they do apparently donāt have great websites, because these arenāt that awesome, but:
- Photoperiodism - how much and what kind of light plants get determines if they flower.
- Root nodules - plants associate with symbiotic bacteria in root nodules, and they ātalkā (chemically) with those bacteria, who have a set of enzymes/oxygen carrying molecules, one of which is similar to hemoglobin. (Leghemoglobin - ālegā for ālegumeā.) So if you cut open the nodule, itās bright red.
- Plants 'talkā via aersolized compounds (yes, cut grass smell may be a distress signal) and via fungal root networks.
- Some plants are parasitic and donāt photosynthesize. (Ghost plants, etc.) Some are hemiparasites and can directly or indirectly (usually via fungi) take sugars/other nutrients from other plants.
- Some plants are allelopathic - they secrete toxins into soil to prevent other plants from growing. Some only do this in the absence of a plant thatās a genetic relative and moderate their allelopathy according to if they are targeting a genetic relative.
- Many plants only germinate under specific circumstances - fire (through temperatures and compounds found in smoke), being rinsed/immersed in water, etc. - and have germination inhibitors around their seeds so that they donāt germinate while in fruit. (Why tomato seeds donāt start sprouting in a tomato, etc.)
