Listen in to the electric voices of plants

摘要

I'm concentrating at my computer when my peace lily lets out a wail. It's a wavering electric howl that finishes as abruptly as it began. But what does it mean? Nigel Wallbridge doesn't know, but wants to find out. He's a co-founder of Switzerland-based Vivent, whose device is giving my peace lily an electronic voice. Electricity is an important way of sending messages throughout a plant. But scientists know little about how and why plants use these signals. Wallbridge hopes his new device, called PhytlSigns, will help us to understand and manage them better.