Do trees have memories? Flashcards
immune system
cells and organs which protect the human body from infection and disease.
Over the past 18 months, we’ve heard a lot about the human immune system – the cells in our bodies that fight diseases like coronavirus. We know that in humans the blood stream carries immune cells around our body. But what about trees and plants? They don’t have blood, so how do they protect themselves?
the answer involves memory. Us, humans, store memories in our brain, but our body also remembers things, including stressful situations from the past, which it stores in our genes. The information gets passed on to our children genetically.
… trees grow rings – a layer of wood for each year of growth. That could be a kind of memory.
food chain
plants and animals that are linked in a chain because each thing eats something weaker than it, and gets eaten by something stronger.
Plants in particular need to have a very efficient immune system for two important reasons. Firstly, they sit at the bottom of the food chain so there are a lot of opportunistic organisms out there, including insect herbivores and microbial pathogens who want to tap into that biochemical energy that is stored in plants. The other reason is plants are rooted to the ground …
opportunistic
takes advantage of a situation to gain benefit, often without thinking whether the action is right or wrong.
…so there are a lot of opportunistic organisms out there, including insect herbivores and microbial pathogens who want to tap into that biochemical energy that is stored in plants. The other reason is plants are rooted to the ground – they cannot escape from the stressful conditions in their environment.
hypothesis
idea that explains how or why something happens which has yet to be tested to see if it’s correct.
Our hypothesis would be that, depending on the level of that stress – if it was a really long-lasting drought of a few years, then maybe the tree can remember it for a long time because it needs to adapt to that hostile environment. Now, maybe the hypothesis would be the other way around, …
drought
long period of time with little or no rain.
Her hypothesis is that trees remember stressful outside events, something like a drought – a long period of time with little or no rain.
Our hypothesis would be that, depending on the level of that stress – if it was a really long-lasting drought of a few years, then maybe the tree can remember it for a long time because it needs to adapt to that hostile environment. Now, maybe the hypothesis would be the other way around, maybe if it was a very dry July for instance, maybe the tree is not even that bothered and then it forgets within one year because that memory of stress is gonna be holding it back on its growth, for instance.
not bothered (about something)
not worried or concerned because it’s not important to you.
Our hypothesis would be that, depending on the level of that stress – if it was a really long-lasting drought of a few years, then maybe the tree can remember it for a long time because it needs to adapt to that hostile environment. Now, maybe the hypothesis would be the other way around, maybe if it was a very dry July for instance, maybe the tree is not even that bothered …
For a tree which has lived for hundreds of years it might be useful to remember that 1947 was a very dry summer.
