14 DAY TRIAL // A person may be a ?"vegetable", but many plants definitely aren't. It seems that plants are not that docile as it was widely assumed, and they can have quite nasty reactions towards strangers.
A new research at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, has showed that plants can recognize one another when they share the same pot with their siblings or with strangers. When strangers are planted in a pot, an intense fight starts, while siblings are friendlier with one another. "The ability to recognize and favor kin is common in animals, but this is the first time it has been shown in plants," said Susan Dudley of McMaster University in.
"When plants share their pots, they get competitive and start growing more roots, which allows them to grab water and mineral nutrients before their neighbors get them. It appears, though, that they only do this when sharing a pot with unrelated plants; when they share a pot with family they don't increase their root growth. Because differences between groups of strangers and groups of siblings (from the same mother plant) only occurred when they shared a pot, the root interactions may provide a cue for kin recognition."
"Though they lack cognition and memory, the study shows plants are capable of complex social behaviors such as altruism towards relatives. Like humans, the most interesting behaviors occur beneath the surface." said Dudley.
This behavior has been observed by the research team in sea rocket (Cakile edentula), a member of the mustard family native to beaches throughout North America, including the Great Lakes. "Gardeners have known for a long time that some pairs of species get along better than others, and scientists are starting to catch up with why that happens. The more we know about plants, the more complex their interactions seem to be, so it may be as hard to predict the outcome as when you mix different people at a party", Dudley said.