Plants Talk
Don't Mess With Acacia Trees
July 6, 2020
So the sentence you are about to read will probably shock you. Plants are actually very similar to us; they can talk to their neighbors, remember specific things, defend themselves against danger when needed, and can dance and sleep. As a kid, my mom always told me that the trees were sleeping and I always looked at her jokingly, saying “yeah… sure…” but it is actually true. Without sleep, they will slowly die because it is a normal and essential part of their cycle of growing. However, that is not the only thing. Like I said before, they can defend themsevlves, and that’s exactly what Acacia trees can do.
The Acacia trees of Africa are able to kill hundreds of Kudu Antelope browsers every year because it can raise its tannin-C levels in their leaves when browsers start eating them. Within fifteen minutes of an animal starting to eat at its leaves, the tannin-C levels will shoot up. Tannin-C is not poisonous but when combined with protein molecules from food in their gut, it makes the leaves indigestible. If the antelopes are confined in a fenced area, they have no choice but to browse the Acacia trees and will starve to death. Not only can they do this, but they can also release ethylene to other trees of their kind to raise the Tannin-C levels - it acts as a warning signal to others in the area. During drought when pressure on the trees is high, or where there is difference between predator and prey species, the antelope populations may become just too much for the carrying capacity of the land and will have to resort to eating those leaves. This happens with other herbivores as well when they eat the leaves off these trees.