We humans are known to help out members of our own families. When
it comes to business we call it nepotism. Now plants have demonstrated
the same predilection, in a study published in the American Journal
of Botany.
Previous research showed that plants-in that study they used a plant
called the Great Lakes sea rocket-can recognize the root systems of
siblings from the same momma plant and will give them a more fair share
of nutrients in the soil.
This new study is the first to look above ground. Researchers at McMaster
University in Canada potted North American impatiens. When the plants
shared a pot with seeds from the same parent plant, they shared access
to light by growing taller with more branches and fewer leaves. But when
those same impatiens were planted with other impatiens-but not their
siblings-they put more energy into growing more and larger leaves that
could crowd out the nonrelatives.
Researchers say the roots alert plants to the relationship of nearby
plants, because when impatiens were planted near siblings but in separate
pots, they didn't recognize their kin. Just goes to show that even in
the plant world, family comes first.