Tim Cook wrote:

> (In other news, there's a bunch of acacia trees in South Africa that got 
> pissed off at the deer/elk eating them and *as a group* turned poisonous 
> and killed a whole herd.)

Plants actually do that.

Well OK, no they don't. But apparently (IIRC) Oak trees communicate with 
each other. When one gets attacked by insects, it makes more tannins in 
its leaves, making them taste bad. But it also emits a chemical with 
nearby Oak trees detect, and they then start to make tannins also, even 
though *they* haven't actually been attacked yet.

So don't go thinking plants don't talk to each other and gang up on 
predators. ;-)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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