Plants can small (chemical detection), such as by detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by other plants or organisms, allowing them to respond to herbivore attacks, pollinators, or neighboring plants.
For example, a plant being eaten by insects can release VOCs to signal nearby plants to ramp up their defenses.
Experiment: Baldwin and Schultz showed that when sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) was damaged, nearby tobacco plants (Nicotiana attenuata) increased their production of defensive compounds. This demonstrated plants’ ability to detect and react to airborne chemical cues. (Karban, R., et al., “Volatile Communication between Plants,” Nature, 2006).
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Plant Fact: Plants Can Smell
