If you hurt an animal, it will immediately cry out. But what about plants? Do they have their own way of expressing pain that humans are unaware of?
For a long time, many have viewed plants as “unthinking,” lacking emotions, and not possessing a specific form of life compared to animals.
However, according to biologist Lilach Hadany from Tel Aviv University in Israel, plants can emit sounds at ultrasonic frequencies beyond the range of human hearing. This is how they communicate their emotions and pain to the surrounding world.
“The fact is that there are sounds that the human ear cannot hear because they exist at a different frequency,” Hadany explains. “There are animals that can hear these sounds. Evidence lies in how they interact with one another.”
A group of scientists from Tel Aviv University recently discovered that some plant species can produce a sound representing pain at high frequencies when subjected to harsh environments.
The research focused on tomato and tobacco plants, conducted with a distance of 10 cm. They cut several branches and withheld water for a few days. The scientists then recorded 35 sound signals within an hour from these branches.
Scientists conducted experiments on tomato and tobacco branches by neglecting to water them for several days. (Photo: iStockphoto).
Report of the experiments conducted by scientists from Tel Aviv University.
Summarizing the results, the scientists found that the plants emitted ultrasound from 20 to 100 kilohertz. According to Live Science, when tomato branches were cut, the study indicated they emitted 25 ultrasound signals per hour, while tobacco plants emitted only 15.
In the water deprivation experiment, tomatoes produced more distressing ultrasounds at a frequency of 35 sounds per hour, while tobacco plants emitted 11. Thus, under different stress conditions, plant species emit different sounds, and when not experiencing sudden stresses for longer periods, the sounds are less painful.
The research team wrote in their report: “These findings could change the way we think about the plant kingdom, which has been considered silent until now.”
According to Hadany, plants constantly interact with insects and some other animal species in ways that humans have yet to grasp. There seems to be a connection between them, and it would be completely suboptimal if plants did not emit sounds.
In fact, we can sense changes—or the “emotions” of plants—similar to how some plants release strong scents or change color and shape.
These changes serve to signal danger to nearby plants and enhance their own defense capabilities against environmental threats.
