We aren’t the only organisms with long-distance connection. Nic Fleming’s article on BBC Earth describes how a network of (mostly symbiotic) fungal connections between trees creates the so-called Wood Wide Web. Trees, apparently, are not the individuals we once believed them to be…
The mycelium of a fungus spreading through soil (Credit: Nigel Cattlin / Alamy)
“Fungal networks make communication between plants, including those of different species, faster, and more effective,” says chemical ecologist Kathryn Morris. “We don’t think about it because we can usually only see what is above ground. But most of the plants you can see are connected below ground, not directly through their roots but via their mycelial connections.”