植物竟然還可以這樣子

By Tiffany Howard

Think plants are just boring green things that we use for food and decoration？ Think again！ Plants have lives that youre probably totally unaware of.

Humankind has grown up alongside plants， and were quite used to seeing them just sitting there， not doing much of anything. For that， we could be forgiven for viewing plants as inanimate objects that arent capable of anything other than growing taller， getting eaten， and shriveling up.1 However， members of the plant kingdom are capable of some pretty awesome things.

Communicating via Roots

Trees are fairly inconspicuous2 upon first glance： branches lightly blowing in the breeze， woodland creatures nesting in their trunks. So youd probably be at least a little surprised that the docile tree that were so used to seeing is likely having a fullblown conversation under your feet.3 Researchers have discovered that plants have the ability to communicate with an underground network made up of fungi4.

This network of fungi serves the plant in multiple ways. One study found that tomato plants were able to use the fungus web to warn each other of harmful blight infestation.5 Another study found that trees connected through the fungus network could transfer nutrients to and from each other. Suzanne Simard of the University of British Columbia first found evidence of this in 1997 and also believes that larger trees transfer nutrients to smaller saplings6 to help them to survive.

Not only that， but they can also undermine unwelcome plants by spreading toxic chemicals through the fungi. In short， trees are capable of sending messages， sharing resources， and spreading malware； sounds like the plant world had the internet figured out long before we did.7

Sending Out an SOS

You would think that living in the middle of a remote forest would make it difficult for help to arrive when needed， but thats not the case for plants. They may be immobile， but theyre definitely not helpless when it comes to invading herbivorous8 insects.

Some plants have a rather impressive line of defense against being eaten： When they sense that theyre being munched on，9 they release a chemical into the air that attracts the invading insects natural enemy. The enemy swoops in and attacks the bug， thus saving the plant from being devoured.10 This is basically the plant kingdom version of getting your older brother to beat up that kid who steals your lunch money.

The Forest Made of One Tree

Nature is full of surprises. Just when she has you believing that it takes several trees to make a forest， bam！ You get hit with the largest cashew11 tree in the world， found in the city of Natal， Brazil. Planted in 1888 by a local fisherman， this tree covers about 7，500 square meters and has a perimeter12 of about 500 meters. The Natal cashew tree currently holds the Guinness World Record for largest cashew tree in the world.

So what makes this tree so gargantuan13？ It has two unusual genetic traits that cause it to grow like it does. For one， the branches grow to the side instead of upward. The second anomaly14 is kind of freaky： The side-growing branches eventually get so heavy that they touch the ground. But instead of just resting there， the branches sprout15 roots. The newly rooted branch then starts growing upward as if it were a new tree. During harvest time， its estimated that the tree produces more than 60，000 cashew fruits.

Plants Know What Time It Is

You might be aware that humans and animals have an internal clock that our bodies operate on called a circadian rhythm16. But did you know that plants also have this clock？ This means that they can prepare for certain times of day just like we do.

For example， plants dont just react to light appearing at sunrise. They “know” sunrise is coming and they prepare for it biologically. In an important study， scientists from the University of Cambridge found that plants use the sugars they produce to keep time. These sugars help to regulate the genes responsible for the plants own circadian rhythm. So， in a sense， “wakes up with the petunias17” is just as valid as“wakes up with the chickens.”

No Snow， No Wheat

During the winter， if you drove past a field of wheat covered in snow， would you expect that the wheat would flourish in the spring？ For a certain wheat variety called winter wheat18， snow is essential for surviving cold winters. In fact， it can be even more useful than a rainy downpour.

Snow helps the soil to retain moisture and also insulates19 the wheat and soil against the chill. Without the snow， the cold would damage the fragile plants roots， and the plants would wither20 and die just as if they were in hot， dry weather. So， for those of you who didnt know that wheat could thrive because of snow， now you do！

1. 因此，我們把植物看作毫無生氣的物體，除了長大、被吃掉然后枯萎之外，別無所長，倒也情有可原。inanimate：無生命的，無活力的；shrivel up： 干枯，枯萎。

2. inconspicuous： 不顯眼的，不引人注意的。

3. docile： 安靜的，溫順的；full-blown： 成熟的，充分發展的。

4. fungi： 真菌，菌類，fungus的復數。

5. blight： 枯萎，枯萎病；infestation： 侵擾，感染。

6. sapling： 幼樹，樹苗。

7. 總而言之，樹木能夠發送信息、分享資源，還能傳播惡意軟件：聽起來好像植物比人類更早發明了網絡似的。malware： 惡意軟件。

8. herbivorous： 食草的。

9. line： 方式，方法；munch：咀嚼。

10. swoop： 猛撲；devour： 狼吞虎咽地吃。

11. cashew： 腰果，腰果樹。

12. perimeter： 周長。

13. gargantuan： 龐大的，巨大的。

14. anomaly： 異常現象，反常事物。

15. sprout： 發芽，抽條。

16. circadian rhythm： 生理節律，晝夜節律。

17. petunia： 牽牛花，喇叭花。

18. winter wheat： 冬小麥。

19. insulate：（為避免不良影響）使隔離。

20. wither： 枯萎，干枯。