How Trees Communicate: From Mycorrhizal Networks to Chemical Signals—and What Humans Think They're Hearing
Do trees talk?
Not quite in the way humans do.
They don't have mouths, vocal cords, brains, or a language that we can translate into words. But trees are far from silent. They constantly sense their surroundings, respond to changes, exchange chemical compounds, interact with fungi, and send signals throughout their own bodies.
And some of those interactions can involve neighboring plants.
So when we say “trees communicate,” what are we actually talking about?
Let's dig into the science—and then take a little walk into the mystery.
The Forest Is Not Silent
Stand in a forest for a few minutes.
At first, you might hear nothing but wind.
Then you start noticing things.
Leaves moving.
Birds calling.
Insects buzzing.
Branches creaking.
Water moving through a nearby stream.
Maybe a squirrel running across the forest floor.
But beneath all of that is another world we can't hear with our ears.
Trees are constantly responding to environmental information.
They detect changes in:
- Light
- Temperature
- Water
- Soil chemistry
- Nutrients
- Touch
- Insects
- Disease
- Neighboring plants
- Physical damage
And they respond by changing their physiology and chemistry.
That is communication in a biological sense—not conversation in the human sense.
The Mycorrhizal Connection
You've probably heard the phrase “the Wood Wide Web.”
It's one of the most intriguing ideas in forest ecology.
Many trees form relationships with fungi living around and within their roots. These fungi are called mycorrhizae.
The tree supplies the fungus with carbon compounds produced through photosynthesis.
In return, the fungal partner can help the tree obtain water and nutrients from the soil.
The fungal network can extend well beyond the tree's immediate root system, and fungal structures can connect with multiple plants.
Researchers have demonstrated that resources and signaling-related compounds can move through some of these plant-fungal systems.
And that's where the story gets really interesting.
But let's slow down for a second.
The popular version of the Wood Wide Web sometimes makes it sound as if forests have a sophisticated underground social-media system:
“Mom Tree just sent the babies some sugar.”
Cute?
Absolutely.
Completely established science?
Not quite.
Scientists continue to investigate how much resource and information transfer occurs through these networks, under what conditions, and how ecologically important those transfers actually are.
The fungal networks are real.
The complexity is real.
Some of the more dramatic interpretations remain a subject of scientific debate.
And honestly, I think the real science is fascinating enough without turning the trees into tiny woodland Wi-Fi routers.
Chemical Messages Through the Air
Trees can also communicate—or perhaps more accurately, signal information about their condition—through chemicals released into the air.
These chemicals are called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
When a plant is damaged by insects, pathogens, or physical stress, it may release certain VOCs.
Other plants can detect some of these compounds and change their own physiology or defensive responses.
Imagine an insect chewing on one tree.
That tree gets attacked.
It changes its chemistry.
It releases compounds into the surrounding air.
Nearby plants detect those compounds.
And some of those plants become more prepared to defend themselves.
It's almost like:
“Hey! Something's eating the neighbors. Lock the doors.”
Except there are no doors.
And no talking.
And probably no tree gossip.
Although…
we can't completely rule out the gossip.
Trees Can Call in Reinforcements
Here's another fascinating twist.
Some chemical compounds released by plants can attract organisms that prey upon the insects attacking them.
In other words, a plant under attack can influence the ecological community around it.
The tree isn't necessarily thinking:
“I need someone to eat this caterpillar.”
Instead, its biological systems respond to the attack, producing chemicals that can have effects beyond the plant itself.
Nature doesn't always need intention to create incredibly sophisticated interactions.
That's one of the things I find so fascinating about ecology.
Plants Have Electrical Signals
And yes…
plants have electrical signaling.
No, trees don't have little nervous systems hidden underneath their bark.
But plants can generate electrical changes in response to stimuli such as injury, touch, light, temperature, and other environmental changes.
Those signals can travel through plant tissues and contribute to changes elsewhere in the plant.
This is one reason the old idea that plants simply sit there doing nothing is so misleading.
They're constantly sensing and responding.
We just don't experience their world through the same sensory systems that we do.
The Language of Water
Water is another part of the story.
Trees depend on elaborate systems for moving water from roots to leaves.
When water becomes scarce, trees undergo physiological changes.
Hormonal signaling—including the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA)—plays an important role in drought responses.
One result can be the closing of stomata, tiny pores on leaves that regulate gas exchange and water loss.
The tree is responding to information about its water status.
Again, no words required.
The message is written in chemistry, pressure, hormones, and physiology.
So Are Trees Actually “Talking”?
Here's where language gets tricky.
Scientists often use words like signaling, communication, interaction, and information exchange when describing these processes.
But those words don't necessarily mean trees possess human-like intentions or consciousness.
A chemical signal can trigger a response without the sender consciously deciding to send it.
That's an important distinction.
Biological communication does not automatically equal conscious conversation.
And this is where the internet has sometimes gotten ahead of the science.
The forest is astonishing without us having to anthropomorphize it.
Then Why Do Humans Feel Like Trees Are Speaking to Them?
Now we enter The Naughty Mystic territory.
Humans have been assigning meaning to trees for thousands of years.
Trees have appeared in mythology, folklore, religion, ritual, art, and storytelling across cultures.
And it's easy to understand why.
A tree is almost the perfect symbol of connection.
Its roots disappear underground.
Its trunk occupies our world.
Its branches reach toward the sky.
It changes with the seasons.
It produces food.
It provides shade.
It shelters animals.
It dies.
And yet forests regenerate.
A tree can represent life, death, ancestry, protection, wisdom, fertility, transformation, strength, and rebirth.
So perhaps humans weren't simply looking at trees.
Perhaps we were looking at ourselves through them.
The Messages We Think We're Hearing
Have you ever been walking through nature and suddenly had an idea?
Or felt drawn toward a particular tree?
Or noticed an animal, color, leaf, or unusual branch formation and immediately attached meaning to it?
Science can investigate some parts of that experience.
Your surroundings affect your senses.
Nature changes your sensory environment.
Your attention shifts.
Your brain processes patterns.
Your memories and emotions influence what you notice.
And being in nature can create conditions that many people experience as calming, restorative, or mentally spacious.
But science can't tell us that a particular tree intentionally sent you a spiritual message.
That interpretation belongs to the individual.
And that's okay.
Meaning and mechanism are not necessarily the same thing.
Science Doesn't Have to Kill the Magic
This is where I think we sometimes create a completely unnecessary battle.
Science says:
“Here's what we can measure.”
Mysticism asks:
“What does it mean to you?”
Those aren't necessarily opposing questions.
I can understand how fungal networks work and still find them magical.
I can understand plant hormones and still be fascinated by the symbolism of a tree.
I can learn about electrical signaling in plants and still wonder why I suddenly had a brilliant idea while walking through the woods.
Understanding something doesn't necessarily make it less magical.
Sometimes…
it makes it more magical.
Maybe We're Listening Differently
Perhaps the biggest mistake is assuming communication has to look like ours.
Humans communicate with words, facial expressions, gestures, sounds, writing, touch, and technology.
Trees communicate through chemistry, hormones, electrical signals, water movement, roots, fungi, and changes in their physiology.
Different organisms.
Different sensory worlds.
Different languages.
Maybe the forest isn't speaking to us.
Maybe it's simply communicating around us, and occasionally we're quiet enough to notice.
And that distinction matters.
Because it leaves room for both curiosity and wonder.
The Naughty Mystic Question
So the next time you're walking through the woods, try something.
Don't immediately ask:
“What message is this tree sending me?”
Instead ask:
“What am I noticing?”
What changes when you slow down?
What catches your attention?
What memories appear?
What emotions surface?
What ideas suddenly arrive?
What does your body feel like beneath the trees?
And then, if you want to get a little mystical…
ask:
“If this tree could teach me something today, what would it be?”
You don't have to believe the tree literally transmitted a message.
You don't have to dismiss the experience either.
You can simply be curious.
Because perhaps the most beautiful part of communicating with nature isn't proving that nature is talking to us.
Maybe it's discovering that we've finally become quiet enough to listen.
And that, my fellow Mystics, is where science meets the mystery.
The trees don't need a voice for the forest to have something to say.