People are continuously pondering whether plants have audible communication abilities or if they scream when they are hurt or chopped down. Even Mythbusters did a show that put the latter to the test which was ultimately busted but had moments of possibility. So what do you think, can plants talk?

Artist Luke Jerram thinks they can and set out to make an art piece centered around the audible abilities. However what he captured is not so much communication as it is a concerto of noise that lead to his aptly title installation, Plant Orchestra.

Jerram’s artistic interests parallel my own so I can’t help but enjoy his work that pulls from his own fascination with the natural wonders of the world. This piece in particular explores an entirely acoustic experience that seeks to put the viewer in the world of the plant whether it feels comforting, overwhelming or even downright scary due to the unfamiliarity of this strange place.

In the artist’s words:

Although imperceptible to the human ear, plants create sound. Using specialist microphones water can be heard as it flows slowly up the stem of a plant. If trees are suffering from drought, scientists can measure acoustic emissions that occur caused by cavitation and embolism within the plant. The sounds created during the day are different to those at night and they alter with the seasons of the year.

Amplifying the acoustic emissions of plants using dozens of special microphones the Plant Orchestra reveals this new and hidden acoustic world. Through amplifyication, each plant is transformed into a musical instrument and becomes part of The Plant Orchestra.

The video below captures the experience of the Plant Orchestra at Night Jar at the Cambridge Botanical Garden which was the very first installation of the piece. “Hundreds of sound samples were recorded from dozens of plants within the glasshouses for the arts project. The best recordings were then played from their prospective plants as part of a light and sound installation.”

images via Luke Jerram

Whenever I travel outside the US, I’m continually in awe of all the things that would never be seen in the states. And while I didn’t get a picture of the scaffolding I saw completely made out of sticks and twigs Guatemala, a fabulous example would be the viewing platform my husband and I came across in the Petén jungle that was high up in a tree, which we later realized was more like a few smaller trees that had all kind of grown together and looked anything but stable. I’m still not sure how I got up to the top with my severe fear of heights and falling to my death but after just walking for about an hour in the creepy jungle with nobody to be seen anywhere and far more scary noises than I could count, I think my freaked out meter had blown before I even got to the tree. That and I really wanted to see the sunset over the tops of the trees with the pyramds of Tikal poking out of the jungle.

The way up was kind of like a a series of ladders that were sometimes just nailed into the side of the tree with a view posts and sometimes held on by wire. Neither of which looks stable and it also looked like it had been there for quite some time, which I couldn’t decide if I thought that was better or worse but I kept climbing. The top was a little platform that was anything but straight. If I didn’t hold on to something I was pretty sure I would just slide right off. I took in the view for about 30 seconds and then immediately descended for fear the whole thing would come crashing down any minute. Which, honestly, I kind of thought it might.

It was completely scary but at the same time, I couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that this was just out there for people to climb on. Whether it was actually safe or not, who knows.

Before moving on to other topics, I thought I’d post a couple other plants that I found fascinating in Latin America due to some unique qualities. This time these plants were spotted in Mexico City.

I wandered by this crazy plant (shown above) from the mint family while touring the campus of UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México). It was growing out of one of the many cool outcroppings of lava rock seen all around the beautiful campus. It is Leonotis nepetifolia, Klip Dagga, but I like to call it Orange-Legged Spider Plant. It looks like a bunch of spiders all tethered by a stalk – the only thing keeping them from leaping onto one’s shoulder!

This next plant, above, was found growing around the Monumento a la Revolución. While the latin name is Lantana camara but often called “ham n’ eggs” due to it’s interesting combination of flower colors.

photos via Lisa Town