Secrets of the Plant "Intranet" Are Coming to Light

Most companies are on the Internet these days, but many also keep an internal network called an "intranet" for passing messages within the organization. In both respects, flowering plants and conifers are similarly equipped. They send and receive messages through the air in the form of volatile organic compounds, and through the soil by networks of fungal hyphae. A tree under attack by beetles, for instance, can send out distress calls that other trees in the forest can pick up, giving them...