Mother Trees are the biggest trees in the forest that are connected and communicate with the other trees and plants forest.

Trees are connected

Through their research, Dr. Simard and others have discovered that trees are connected below-ground via a vast fungal network.

Trees form mycorrhizae (literally meaning “fungus-root”), which are symbiotic relationships between trees and fungi. These mycorrhizal fungi have many branching threads (called mycelium) that grow out from the root tip of a tree and connect with the roots of other trees and plants to form a mycorrhizal network. The mycelium spans vast areas connecting trees and plants across a forest in an expansive underground network.

Close up of mycelium

VIDEO: The secret language of trees

Watch this short TEDTalk by Dr Camille Defrenne and Dr. Suzanne Simard to learn more about the symbiotic relationship between trees and mycorrhizae.

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Trees communicate and share resources

Trees use the mycorrhizal network that connects them together to send and receive chemical messages to one another.

This fungal highway is a direct way to communicate, like the internet or telephone lines. This network was coined the “Wood Wide Web” in Dr. Simard’s 1997 paper published in the scientific journal Nature.

Close up of mycorrhizal network

VIDEO: How trees talk to each other

Watch Dr. Simard’s TEDTalk to find out more about how trees communicate and share resources using the mycorrhizal network.

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Learn about Mother Trees in the Forest