The "mother" tree

Last week I finally read Finding the Mother Tree. Fascinating book and very readable. I highly recommend it. This quotation, from right at the beginning of the book, summarizes what she has discovered over the course of a lifetime of research.

The older trees are able to discern which seedlings are their own kin.

The old trees nurture the young ones and provide them food and water just as we do with our own children. It is enough to make one pause, take a deep breath, and contemplate the social nature of the forest and how this is critical for evolution. The fungal network appears to wire the trees for fitness. And more. These old trees are mothering their children.—Finding the Mother Tree, 5

It rings true with what I noticed informally over my life. They are finding it is true even among garden plants and between species. Truly amazing! The handiwork of God is beyond comprehension.