In Africa, Where Plants "Speak"

In Zimbabwe's Hwange Park, plants display intelligence for survival as artist Marina Aliverti reports. They communicate beneath the soil via the "Wood Wide Web" to share resources and send chemical warnings. When browsed, they release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), airborne alarm signals, prompting neighbours (like acacias) to produce defensive tannins. This ability, combined with memory and tough physical features, ensures adaptation to the harsh environment and herbivores

A web of roots from Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe (Ph. Marina Aliverti)

By Marina Aliverti

I looked out across the magnificent Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, the light sharp on the landscape. I was here for a photographic safari. Elephants fed on the crowns of the acacias. The trees nearby were already preparing for the next assault, using their airborne communication.

This is the plant's intelligence: the ability to perceive, process, communicate, and respond actively to the environment and its dangers. It is complex, and it maximizes their survival.

They communicate beneath the soil, in the "Wood Wide Web."

An African flower (Ph. Marina Aliverti)

Under the savanna, a vast network of mycorrhizae (a symbiotic association between roots and fungi) acts as a system for communication and exchange. The plants use this network to share water and nutrients—carbon, nitrogen—with nearby neighbours, especially the younger or stressed ones. They act as a community. When a plant is attacked by insects or experiences water stress (common here in Hwange and Botswana’s Chobe), it sends chemical signals through this network to warn the surrounding plants. They then trigger their defenses early.

Plants also speak through the air.

When they are browsed by an herbivore—an antelope or an elephant, omnipresent in these parks—they release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These compounds act as an alarm signal perceived by the nearby foliage, especially the acacias. This prompts them to rapidly produce chemical defenses, such as tannins that make their leaves unpalatable or even toxic.

The capacity to remember and adapt is also intelligence.

Having survived an extreme drought or a parasitic attack, they can "remember" the event. They hold their defense systems in a state of higher readiness for the next season. The Baobabs and the varied acacias found in Matopo, with its granite and poorer soils, and Hwange, are built for survival. Their capacity to store water and their tough spines are intelligent, evolutionary answers to the harsh challenges of the environment: the hunger of the animals and the deep, persistent lack of water. 

The plants spoke, and the world listened, and it was hard, clean survival.

Artist Marina Aliverti

Artist, Fashion & Jewellery Designer, Photographer, and Activist

Cernobbio (Lake Como, Italy) | Celerina (Switzerland)

An accomplished artist, designer, and environmental activist, Marina Aliverti is the Director of Filorosso.net , Creative Think Tank, and a recognized fashion rainmaker. Her work seamlessly bridges the worlds of high-fashion design and fine art, driven by a deep commitment to environmental themes, as seen in her photography and activist projects.

Artistic & Design Career

Marina Aliverti's career is defined by a deep-rooted connection to the creative process, evolving from world-class textile design to fine art and sustainable fashion initiatives:

• Fine Art & Photography: Embracing art and photography in a successive phase of her career, Marina has dedicated herself to raising global awareness about the beauty and fragility of our Planet. Her work as an environmental photographer and artist reflects a passion for grand journeys and a commitment to systemic interaction on complex topics, as demonstrated by her impactful cover design for the inaugural Rekh Magazine Papers issue.

• Fashion & Jewellery Design: Marina is a third-generation descendant of a Como-based entrepreneurial family, with her grandfather's founding three historical textile companies (Aliverti & Stecchini - 1921, I.S.I.S. - 1922, and Algesta - 1970s). This heritage provides her with a long-standing and unrivalled experience within Como’s extraordinary textile universe.

• Global Collaborations & Personal Lines: She has gained extensive design experience in Milan, Paris, London, Rome, and Florence, with an important track record of collaborations with top fashion players across textiles, clothing, accessories, sportswear, and jewellery (including Capucci, Colmar, YSL, Dior, Armani, Fürstenberg, Fiorucci, and Ferré).

• Entrepreneurship & Sustainable Projects: Drawing on her experience and entrepreneurial spirit, Marina developed and designed her own lines of prêt-à-porter (ALISEI and Marina Aliverti). More recently, she started the BackAgainShirts project, a luxury upcycling initiative that follows all production steps from start to finish, showcasing her dedication to sustainability.

Education

• Graduate of the renowned world-class Textile Design Institute in Como, Italy.