If you could shrink down to the size of cells and enter the soil, you would discover a bustling highway of intertwined filaments—the mycelium. It is along this network that fungi send electrical signals whose organization resembles words and sentences. New measurements show that some fungal species have a “vocabulary” of about fifty distinct “words,” and in everyday communication they make do with fifteen to twenty of the most commonly used. (royalsocietypublishing.org)
How scientists translate the fungal “code”
Andrew Adamatzky’s team at the University of the West of England inserted microscopic electrodes into fruiting bodies as well as blocks of substrate to capture changes in voltage. The four species monitored—velvet shank, oyster mushroom, the bioluminescent Omphalotus nidiformis, and the rare Chinese caterpillar fungus—sent pulses in distinctive clusters. When the mycelium touched fresh wood or encountered danger, the frequency of the signals rose sharply, as if the fungi were announcing an important message “more loudly.” (theguardian.com, science.org)
Mathematical analysis revealed that the average length of a single “word” reaches almost six “letters”—tiny voltage jumps—which is comparable to English. Scientists therefore speak of the beginnings of a language: the signals are not random but structured in a way similar to human speech.
Mycelium as the forest internet
The network of hyphae resembles fiber-optic cables: it links the roots of trees and shrubs, as well as other fungi. Botanists demonstrated as early as the 1990s that mycorrhizal bridges can transfer carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus from one tree species to another—the famous exchange between paper birch and Douglas fir was documented by Suzanne Simard. (nature.com) This “wood-wide highway” increases forests’ resilience to drought, insects, and fires, and helps determine which seedlings survive.
Recordings of the impulses suggest that fungi in this network don’t only send nutrients but also pure information: where they have just found fresh wood, what the soil pH is, or whether a nematode is approaching. Underground, a real data stream is taking place—albeit at a speed of only a few milliseconds per second.
Skeptics and alternative explanations
Not every microbiologist is convinced that this is a language in the true sense of the word. Critics point out that the impulses may be a byproduct of growth or metabolism, and that the clustering of “letters” appears simply because mycelium grows in cycles. The researchers counter with mathematical models: random noise does not produce consistent patterns with the same information content as what was found in fungi. The debate continues, and further experiments with controlled manipulation of conditions should show whether fungi also “decode” the signals.
Why does this matter?
- Biotechnology: Fungal electrical feedback could be used as extremely sensitive biosensors to monitor soil contamination or oil leaks.
- Inspiration for IT: Studying mycelium’s distributed “conversation” helps design resilient computer networks that self-repair and adapt to node damage.
- Forestry and agriculture: Understanding the signals could support sustainable management—from more precise fertilizer applications to selecting companion crops that exchange nutrients via fungi.
Similar electrical languages also appear in slime molds (Physarum polycephalum), which likewise propagate pulses within a growing, neuron-like network structure. Studies have shown that when a slime mold finds food, it changes the frequency of its signals, which regulates the direction of growth of the entire organism—further evidence that primitive “electrical words” can stand in for communication across kingdoms of life.
Sources
- Adamatzky, A. Language of fungi derived from their electrical spiking activity. Royal Society Open Science (2022). https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211926 (royalsocietypublishing.org)
- Geddes, L. Mushrooms communicate with each other using up to 50 “words”. The Guardian (6 Apr 2022). https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/06/fungi-electrical-impulses-human-language-study (theguardian.com)
- Simard, S. W. et al. Net transfer of carbon between ectomycorrhizal tree species in the field. Nature 388, 579-582 (1997). https://www.nature.com/articles/41557 (nature.com)
- Vogel, G. Mushrooms may “talk” to one another with up to 50 words. Science (6 Apr 2022). https://www.science.org/content/article/mushrooms-may-talk-one-another-50-words (science.org)
Robert
I’m interested in technology and history, especially true crime stories. For three years I ran a fact-based portal about modern history, and for a year I co-built a blogging platform where I published dozens of analytical articles. I founded offpitch so that quality content wouldn’t be hidden behind a paywall.
