The Wood Wide Web is not a name that I invented. I remembered that I read an article in 2014 that gave me goosebumps. For already a couple of years I was building a world and stories in my mind on dryads that use energy from a network, but this article gave me the framework that I needed to root my story deeper in the ground. One big pioneer is Dr Suzanne Simard. One of my favorite characters in my story is named after her.
The Wood Wide Web is a network of fungi that connect the roots of different plants, enabling them to talk, trade nutrients, but also to send toxics. By plugging in to mycelial networks, the plants become more resistant to disease.
Imagine … if you, as a human, are able to plug in this big network. This would make the internet, the metallic version, even more obsolete. My stories are about this. Dryads are creatures that are linked in this internet and can do many amazing things because of this.
Interesting articles and videos:
- National Geographic (2018) How Trees talk to each other secretly in the forest
- BBC (2018) How Trees secretly talk to each other
- TED Talk (2016) – Suzanne Simard: “How Trees talk to each other“
- The New Yorker (2016) The Secrets of the Wood Wide Web
- BBC (2014) – Plants talk to each other using an internet of fungus
- TED Talk (2008) – Paul Stamets: “6 ways mushrooms can save the world“
Stories from the Wood Wide Web 