Scientists aren’t buying claims that trees talk to each other during eclipses

For centuries, humans have wondered if trees are more than passive bystanders in nature. Do they sense? Do they communicate? Some researchers think so, but a new study claiming that spruce trees “talk” to one another during solar eclipses is drawing serious skepticism from scientists.

The bold claim comes from a research team that monitored three spruce trees in the Italian Alps during a 2020 solar eclipse. They recorded synchronized changes in the trees’ bioelectrical signals: Tiny electrical...