Plants can emit faint ultrasonic “clicks” or “pops” when they’re under stress, especially from dehydration or physical damage like having their stems cut.
Research from Tel Aviv University found these sounds typically fall in the 40–80 kHz range, far above human hearing.
The clicks are thought to be linked to internal stress processes inside the plant as water tension changes.
While humans can’t hear them, insects and small mammals can detect these ultrasonic signals.
In controlled conditions, the sounds may be picked up from as far as about 5 meters away.
