Focusing on Descanso Gardens’ magnificent heritage coast live oaks, “Trees Talk” will be held in the Sturt Haaga Gallery at Descanso from March 16 through June 2.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, visitors can explore the hidden network that allows trees to communicate with one another.
“Trees can sense the world around them and can communicate about it. Visitors explore what we are only just discovering about how much information trees can pass along,” according to the Descanso website.
Oak trees intertwine their roots, forming a vast, tangled mat beneath the ground. Fungi connect the roots of different trees, creating a huge network that helps trees share information and nutrients. This process is highlighted in a playful interactive exhibit.
This beguiling exhibition showcases touchable and interactive elements, drawing on actual wood taken from oaks that tragically fell during a severe storm in 2023. Visitors can investigate acorn sprouts that show how roots develop as an oak tree grows and examine intriguing fungal entanglement.
Visitors will also learn how they can help all trees benefit from their partnerships with fungi and lounge with books and references as they find out more about how trees talk.
Trees Talk is funded in part by Heather and Paul Haaga.
First published in the March 7 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
