Plant Behaviour Special Issue

Terrestrial plants are sessile. However, their life is not still, but an exercise of continuous exploration. Plants explore their environment seeking favourable microsites for light capture and nutrient absorption, and avoiding places where resources are highly contested. Animals do this by movement; plants by growing and discarding organs, or by changing the shape of these organs. If good conditions are not found, plants often adjust their form and physiology to tolerate adversity. In long-lived plants, like the pines illustrated in the cover photographs and described in the associated legend, this foraging behaviour literally leaves its mark in the trunks.