“Help!” “Land here!” “Conserve resources!” “Get off!” “My fruits are ready to eat!”

These are just some of the many messages we know plants—from a patch of moss to a 300-foot sequoia—can send. In fact, if you’ve ever smelled freshly mowed grass, you’ve communicated with a plant.

“I think we're seeing that the complexity [of communication] is just as great with plants as it is with animals,” says Mamta Rawat, a microbiologist and program director at the National Science Foundation (NSF). “I think there's a lot more to be learned—we’re just touching the tip of the iceberg.”

In March, a new study showed many different plant species make ultrasonic sounds to communicate stress. It’s the latest evidence showing how plants “talk”