BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhuanet) -- A recent study reveals plants potted with siblings are kinder to each other than when potted with strangers. When plants share a pot with strangers, they develop a competitive streak.

    "The ability to recognize and favor kin is common in animals, but this is the first time it has been shown in plants," said Susan Dudley of McMaster University in Canada.

    Roots branch out in search of water and nutrients after plants are potted. But when several plants of the same species are potted together, each plant extends its root growth to try and gobble up available resources.

    Unless the plants came from the same mother plant ¡ª in which case they become very accommodating, allowing each other ample root space.

    Because the interactions between related and unrelated plants only happened when plants were in the same pot, where root space is limited, root interactions are likely what gives plants the cue that their neighbor is related.

    Dudley observed this behavior in sea rocket (Cakile edentula), a member of the mustard family that is native to North America beaches. The findings, detailed in the June 12 issue of Biology Letters, may not come as a surprise to seasoned gardeners.

    "Gardeners have known for a long time that some pairs of species get along better than others, and scientists are starting to catch up with why that happens," Dudley said. "The more we know about plants, the more complex their interactions seem to be."

    (Agencies)