Talk to the Trees

I love trees. Watching the leaves dance in a gentle breeze as I take shelter from the summer sun, or seeing the frost sparkling on cold branches in winters shimmering light. Either is magical.

Trees are ancient, life giving and to many people sacred. The Celts worshiped them, the Viking Goddess, Yggdrasil, took the form of one and we welcome them into our gardens to this day.

Some of us like to hug trees, or even talk to them.

But did you know that trees talk to one another?

No? Well let me tell you about how this occurs.

Much like the spore drive in Star Trek Discovery, trees use a network of spores and fungi to communicate with each other.

Trees have a symbiotic relationship with a type of fungi that lives within their roots called mycorrhizal.

These fungi assist their larger neighbours by helping them absorb water and nutrients. The trees repay the fungi by sharing sugars created during photosynthesis - energy created through sunlight.

The fungi spreads and connects through the ground. This effectively connects the trees to one another through a vast network of interconnected roots. A little like a huge version of the human nervous system.

In a forest, or a wood, this acts like a kind of underground internet. Signals pass through this immense system of roots, bouncing from tree to tree.

This forms a vast network of communication, where trees can share information about their environment and changes in it. This allows other trees to adapt their habits, even before the changes can affect them.

Some trees are ancient and have spawned much of the forest and woods around themselves. These trees are called “Mother trees” and they almost act as hubs of information. They will even share carbon via the network, feeding younger trees and giving seedlings a massive boost.

Imagine, a tree nursing its young. Just the cutest.

These “Mother trees” carry what we would see as a type of memory of their environment. They have been adapting for many years to environmental and sometimes human interference. This memory allows the Mother trees to provide the best information to the younger trees. This gives these youngsters the best start no matter what environment they have seeded in. From changes in rainfall over the years, to how hot the sun is.

This memory suggests an intelligence of a very different kind to our own. Are trees really aware? Does this mean there is sentience of a kind?

Maybe, like Star Treks Devil in the Dark, we shouldn’t judge the living creatures around us just because the appear to be different to us.

Just think, these strange and wonderful occurrences are happening all around us, unseen and unheard. Nature is incredible.

Perhaps we need to learn to be kinder to these wonderful life givers. If we take from them we should give back, through planting and setting aside spaces for them to live their lives.

Deforestation is affecting all of us. Humans, other animals and of course the poor trees that are sacrificed for our sake. It is too easy to pretend it doesn’t matter. Because it does, this should matter to all of us.

The trees give us the air we breathe after all. Without them all life would die.

Just think, that maybe someday trees will evolve so far that we will be able to talk with them. After all, they are already taking amongst themselves.

So perhaps the next time you pass a tree, you could think about wishing it a good day.

You never know, it may be wishing you exactly the same.