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| Pixabay |
I love massive trees that spread their branches like a web of protective arms.
The tree pictured above is a Mother Tree. I learned this while searching for a new picture for my desktop.
And I discovered this book by Suzanne Simard, a scientist and professor at UBC who studies trees and how they communicate.
A Mother tree is networked into all the trees around her. The trees then "interact with each other trying to help each other survive."
Another unique and fascinating form of communication!
I put Simard's book on hold at the library to learn more, but in the meantime, an article on NPR tells about Simard's research findings:
The trees were sharing "information that actually is important to the health of the whole forest."
In addition to warning each other of danger, Simard says that trees have been known to share nutrients at critical times to keep each other healthy. She says the trees in a forest are often linked to each other via an older tree she calls a "mother" or "hub" tree.
Trees are linked to neighboring trees by an underground network of fungi that resembles the neural networks in the brain, she explains. In one study, Simard watched as a Douglas fir that had been injured by insects appeared to send chemicalwarning signals to a ponderosa pine growing nearby. The pine tree then produced defense enzymes to protect against the insect.
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| Pixabay |
No wonder I'm struck by the beauty of these awesome trees. A Mother Tree interacting, connecting and protecting her little saplings and other trees around her — what a powerful symbol.
Click here to watch a short video on Mother Trees with Suzanne Simard, and to learn how you really say fungi (spoiler alert: she doesn't pronounce it like she's talking about a guy who's the life of the party).
