Garden

[GingerPeach]

This is outstanding.

Flowers can hear bees and make their nectar sweeter.  Just WOW.

https://www.nationalgeographic DOT com/science/2019/01/flowers-can-hear-bees-and-make-their-nectar-sweeter/

[Sooner]

@GingerPeach  The article has "ears" in quotes.  I am not surprised that plants can sense vibrations.  There were "sensitive" plants growing in our pasture with beautiful little pink flowers and the leaves would fold up if you touch them.

There are vibrations that we can feel, like earthquakes, and sometimes you can also hear earthquakes as the sound waves escape the ground.  So sound waves, like the bass speaker in a boom car, produce vibrations that can be felt and heard.

Maybe they think it is Beyonce?    Thanks for posting this interesting piece!  Fun to think about on a cloudy dreary day here! 

[GingerPeach]

@Sooner

The spot using quotes around the word "ears" is this:

"Are some “ears” better for certain frequencies than others?"

Elsewhere, points such as this are made:

“Some people may think, How can [plants] hear or smell?” Veits says. “I’d like people to understand that hearing is not only for ears.”

We probably don't yet have language advanced enough to apply to what is being learned recently so have to fall back on "ears" since it's our only reference point.  I think everyone does, of course, understand about vibrations.  After all, that is what ears do, translate vibrations into understandable meaning for any creature with actual ears.

[Sooner]

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@GingerPeach wrote:

@Sooner

The spot using quotes around the word "ears" is this:

"Are some “ears” better for certain frequencies than others?"

Elsewhere, points such as this are made:

“Some people may think, How can [plants] hear or smell?” Veits says. “I’d like people to understand that hearing is not only for ears.”

We probably don't yet have language advanced enough to apply to what is being learned recently so have to fall back on "ears" since it's our only reference point.  I think everyone does, of course, understand about vibrations.  After all, that is what ears do, translate vibrations into understandable meaning for any creature with actual ears.

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@GingerPeach  I'm confused.  In the end, it's all vibrations/sound waves/impulses whether we hear it or feel it.   So I am assuming there is no point being argued here. . .

[GingerPeach]

I didn't quite understand what you meant, so what I should have done is ask you, instead of replying to what I "thought" you meant.

Sorry, @Sooner

[Sooner]

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@GingerPeach wrote:

I didn't quite understand what you meant, so what I should have done is ask you, instead of replying to what I "thought" you meant.

Sorry, @Sooner

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@GingerPeach  Probably more people should say to me "What are you talking about!"  LOL!!!

[Sweetbay magnolia]

I don't doubt it (bees do buzz).  Birds migratory patterns are dependent on sound waves.

This changes when there is too much interference from motorized machines, like leaf blowers and cars, and changing the topography of the earth to accommodate highways and buildings.

Encourage Nature!

[JustJazzmom]

Many flowers have infrared ‘runways’ for insects to see to obtain the nectar.

[gardenman]

Plants are a lot smarter than we give them credit for being. I've long thought that the ultimate outcome of evolution would be a planet completely dominated by a single plant with the best genetic traits from the plant world combined. If you look at the genes available in the plant world, you have genes that make some of the most lethal poisons known making the plants inedible in any way. Plants with incredible physical defense in thorns, or tough outer skins. You have plants with incredibly long lifespans, You have plants that can grow in freshwater areas, brackish water areas, or full salt water areas. You have plants, like spreading bamboo, that are incredibly invasive and can crowd out any and all competition.

A super plant, combining all the best genetic traits in the plant world, would evolve to the point where nothing could stop it. Nothing could eat it. Nothing could compete with it. It would quite simply take over the planet and kill everything else.

Lots of people have this idealistic vision of evolution resulting in a Garden of Eden with everyone and everything living in peace and harmony.  Evolution is more about survival of the fittest however and a super plant, combining the best of all the genetic traits that are out there would wipe out everything else.

I had a Sci-Fi story idea where explorers stumble upon this strange planet where there's only one type of plant growing and they can't figure out why that's the case. They try to plant crops and soon discover why that plant owns the planet. It's simply evolved to be the ultimate in evolution. I truly believe that a fully evolved planet, if one ever reaches that state, would be dominated by a single plant combining all the best genetic traits of the plant world into a single entity. There would be no other life allowed by the plant. It would own the world. (Note to geneticists: Don't try to make such a plant in your labs. While it may be technically possible, it's a really bad idea.)

[JustJazzmom]

Your story reminds me of that Outer Limits story Specimen Unknown.