Nature

What Plants Talk About

When we think about plants, we don’t often associate a term like “behavior” with them, but experimental plant ecologist JC Cahill wants to change that. The University of Alberta professor maintains that plants do behave and lead anything but solitary and sedentary lives. What Plants Talk About teaches us all that plants are smarter and much more interactive than we thought!

Dodder Vine Sniffs Out Its Prey

2m 33s

Unable to produce its own food, the dodder vine must live entirely off a host plant. In a series of experiments, Researchers Consuelo M. De Moraes and Mark Mesker show that to find a host plant from which to drain nutrients, the parasitic plant "sniffs" out the chemical scents released by the leaves of nearby plants. "What Plants Talk About" premieres April 3 at 8/7c (check local listings).

Previews + Extras

  • Plant Self-Defense: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Plant Self-Defense

    S31 E9 - 1m 8s

    To protect against herbivores the wild tobacco plant deposits trichomes, sweet treats irresistible to but also potentially fatal for leaf-eating caterpillars. Shortly after ingesting the trichomes, the insect releases a particular odor that attracts ground-foraging predators. "What Plants Talk About" premieres Wednesday, April 3 at 8/7c on PBS (check local listings).

  • What Plants Talk About - Preview: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    What Plants Talk About - Preview

    S31 E9 - 30s

    From the stunning heights of the Great Basin Desert to the lush coastal rainforests of Canada, scientist J.C. Cahill takes us on a journey into the secret world of plants, revealing a landscape of pulsing activity, where plants communicate, co-operate and, sometimes, wage all-out war. "

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