Plans Are Talking: How Plants Wire and Wireless Their Way Through the World

A review in Discover Plants argues that the idea of plants as silent bystanders is wrong. Synthesizing about 180 peer-reviewed studies from 2015 to 2025, the authors describe plants as active participants in communication networks involving chemical, electrical, and molecular signals shared with neighboring plants, soil microbes, and insects. The review organizes signaling into three main pathways: direct plant-to-plant signaling, plant-to-microbe-to-plant signaling, and communication mediated by volatile organic compounds. It explains “wired” channels such as vascular tissues (phloem and xylem) and root-to-root contact for moving signals internally, alongside “wireless” airborne chemical messages. A highlighted example from maize shows fall armyworm attack triggers volatile releases that recruit parasitoid wasps and can also prompt extrafloral nectar, attracting predatory helpers.