Plants Emit Sounds Under Stress

The sounds emitted by plants are ultrasonic, beyond the hearing range of the human ear.

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Plant sounds are ·informative: mostly emitted when the plant is under stress, they contain information about its condition.

The researchers ·mainly recorded tomato and tobacco plants; wheat, corn, cactus, and henbit were also recorded.

The researchers: ·"Apparently, an idyllic field of flowers can be a rather noisy place. It's just that we can't hear the sounds!"

Global breakthrough: for the first time in the world, researchers at Tel Aviv University recorded and analyzed sounds distinctly emitted by plants. The click like sounds, similar to the popping of popcorn, are emitted at a volume similar to human speech, but at high frequencies, beyond the hearing range of the human ear. The researchers found that plants usually emit sounds when they are under stress, and that each plant and each type of stress is associated with a specific identifiable sound. While imperceptible to the human ear, the sounds emitted by plants can probably be heard by various animals, such as bats, mice, and insects.