Understand the Communication Between Mother Trees and Baby Trees
Do you ever wonder whether trees are able to communicate with each other or not? Well, if you did, the answer to this question would definitely be a yes. Trees tend to talk to one another. They also happen to share their food, resources, and much more with each other. Apart from that, they also transfer their wisdom and assist other trees in surviving as well.
So, this is where the concept of a mother tree comes into action. While it might not be too obvious to us, trees are actually very social. Like our families, trees also have different families that are completely close-knit.
A Mother Tree in the Forest
Their families are interconnected. The mother tree actually talks and communicates with the baby trees. If you want to understand the mother plant meaning; it is the caretaker of the baby trees and provides nutrients to them as well. So, the mother tree has a very important role to play in the development of younger trees as well.
Apart from that, there are some older trees also that tend to provide their wisdom and knowledge to the younger trees as well. The relatively young trees, while fighting for their existence on the planet, wait to grow old and then resume the responsibilities of the older trees.
There is an age-old saying that all trees do is compete with each other in order to get the resources and food. However, that is far from the truth. Trees are actually very cooperating in nature. They have the aim of living together and sharing every resource that they have. But how do you think that happens? In order to understand that in detail, finding the mother tree and gathering more details about it is really important. So, without any further delay, let us get ahead with the article.
Does Mother Tree Communicate to Baby Tree?
According to the research done by Peter Wohhleben, a forester and an author, there are different mother trees in the group of trees that have specific roles which are very important. The mother tree images can help you understand the concept a lot better. After doing much research on the mother trees and their roles, he wrote in his book titled, “The Hidden Life of Trees: What they Feel, How they communicate?” about the mode of communication that is used by the mother trees and the baby trees to get their message across.
According to him, some mother trees would properly supply the necessary nutrients to the saplings, or the baby trees. The mother trees would also warn all their neighbours about passing dangers and much more. They also provide the best wisdom to the younger trees with the help of a proper network which is called the Mycorrhizal Network in the best way.
The mother trees are also known as hub trees and are the oldest and the biggest trees that tend to exist in the forest. These trees will take up the role of the mother. Hence, they will be responsible for the support and nurturing of the seedlings or the saplings that are shallow-rooted. These trees are known as baby roots since they have not managed to develop yet in the best way.
Some of the main nutrients which are shared by the mother trees include water, nitrogen, carbon, allele chemicals, and phosphorus. The nutrients are properly supplied to the baby trees using the mycorrhizal network. Hence there is simply not a single speck of doubt that the role played by the mother trees is really an important one. If the mother tree is unable to provide the nutrients and communicates with the baby saplings, they won’t be able to grow and thrive in the environment for sure.
Hence, finding the mother tree is very important in order to ensure the proper growth and nutrition of the baby trees as well.
Some Fascinating Facts About the Mother Tree
Mycorrhizal networks can be defined as effective fungi network that properly connects the tips of two different types of trees.
The trees as well as the fungi tend to work in harmony, and, hence, have a symbiotic relationship. The fungi take up to about 30 per cent of the sugar that is photosynthesized by the trees. However, the fungi also have something to offer in return. They are responsible for transferring the essential nutrients from one tree to another, and that too without any hindrance.
The mother trees are responsible for offering sugar to the other trees in certain areas that are shady. Hence, mother trees provide the other trees with the chance to survive under unfavourable conditions.
In case some trees are dying, they will properly dump all the resources into this particular network so that the neighbouring trees that are healthier will be able to use it easily.
The trees are also able to send some sort of distress signals in the form of different chemicals that are sent to the roots of the trees in case there is an emergency or a tree is suffering from some disease.
This will help the trees in surviving because the mother tree can then pass the nutrients which are required by the diseased trees to recover properly.
One of the main drawbacks of mycorrhizal networks is that these networks can be hacked. Yes, you heard it absolutely right. These networks can be hacked by some unnecessary trees or plants, and hence everything from nutrients to wisdom can be stolen.
Also, there are some species of trees, such as the Black Walnut, that can pump different toxic chemicals into the network and potentially harm the rivals that they have.
Conclusion
To describe the trees' quotes further, it can be said that the trees are definitely able to converse with one another thanks to the interdependent and interconnected web that exists amongst them. The mother tree is definitely one of the most important trees for the group since it provides all the essentials to those trees that are in need.
