Adam Adamatzky, with the Unconventional Computing Laboratory at the University of West England in Bristol, England, has put forth a surprising theory that fungi may communicate with each other. You read that right. He postulates, based on research he has conducted, that there is communication going on between mushrooms.
Adamatzky noted that previous research seemed to suggest that fungi emit electrical impulses through underground filamentous structures that can be detected and analyzed. As he was considering this idea, it occurred to him to attempt to analyze this electrical activity as if it were a language.
To do this, he inserted electrodes into the fungi and recorded the electrical impulses. He then grouped them into categories based on the rhythmic electrical spikes they emitted. He found that the impulses varied by amplitude (range), frequency, and duration. Using a linguistic model, he developed a mathematical model that allowed him to compare the patterns of these impulses with human speech. Based on his analysis, he says that it is possible that the fungal language comprises up to 50 words organized into sentences – with different species of fungi having different levels of complexity.
In spite of finding these patterns, however, Adamatzky does not seem to have found a Rosetta Stone that allows him to translate what the mushrooms might be saying to (Continue reading here.)