Institute for Inconspicuous Languages: Reading Lips / Špela Petrič (SI)
The journal Science recently published an article in which scientists described the first meaningful exchange between a ficus tree and a human being that could, in a broader sense, be considered a conversation. The insightfully envisioned experiment required utmost patience and full commitment from both parties: over the course of eighteen years (2025-43), the young ficus tree (Ficus benjamina) and the human had to negotiate a shared code of signs. The linguist and polyglot M.L. began the experiment by establishing a basic set of communication signs. Like all plants, ficus trees maintain rigorous control over the amount of water they absorb through the roots by opening and closing leaf pores. Each ficus leaf has thousands of such tiny openings, called stomata. M.L.’s idea was to read stomata just as people who can read lips. Photo: miha_Fras_presented@Kersnikova
Institute for Inconspicuous Languages: Reading Lips / Špela Petrič (SI)
The journal Science recently published an article in which scientists described the first meaningful exchange between a ficus tree and a human being that could, in a broader sense, be considered a conversation. The insightfully envisioned experiment required utmost patience and full commitment from both parties: over the course of eighteen years (2025-43), the young ficus tree (Ficus benjamina) and the human had to negotiate a shared code of signs. The linguist and polyglot M.L. began the experiment by establishing a basic set of communication signs. Like all plants, ficus trees maintain rigorous control over the amount of water they absorb through the roots by opening and closing leaf pores. Each ficus leaf has thousands of such tiny openings, called stomata. M.L.’s idea was to read stomata just as people who can read lips. Photo: miha_Fras_presented@Kersnikova