Singing plant

The singing plant was a plant native to Talos IV. It was a blue plant with a single, broad lily pad-shaped leaf on a long stem, and sometimes featured a white flower on top. While blooming, the leaves shape changes slightly and its edges go from smooth to jagged. It could be found growing among the many boulders and plains that made up the planet's surface.

As its structure vibrated in the near constant winds on the planet's surface, the Talosian singing plant emitted a beautiful, wailing chime, which was very pleasing to the ear. Holding the plant's leaf still in one's hands would cause the song to cease, and cause the plant to close up, but it would resume again once let go.

In 2254, Spock reacted to the sound of the plant with joy, as did Michael Burnham when she visited the planet in 2257.

Terran emperor Philippa Georgiou told Captain Leland that in the Terran universe, she destroyed the Talosians and their "stupid singing plants". (TOS: "The Cage", "The Menagerie, Part I"; DIS: "If Memory Serves")

• Listen to the Talosian singing plant ^file info

See also[]

• Muktok plant

Background information[]

The script of "The Cage" describes the noise produced by this kind of plant as "a musical flute-like sound" and characterizes the plant itself as "a plant with paper-thin rigid leaves which vibrate in the breeze. [Spock] blows on it, produces new musical notes." The script continues with a bracketed production note that reads, "These wind-plant sounds will identify and set mood for all our scenes on the surface of Talos IV."

The sounds created by this type of plant were actually provided by Star Trek composer Alexander Courage. ("The Menagerie, Part I" text commentary)

The Talosian singing plant was featured on the unseen cover of the Handbook of Exobiology alongside a Kaferian apple. (ENT: "Strange New World")

Apocrypha[]

These plants were referred to as windsingers in Trek literature. ^{(citation needed • edit)}

External link[]

• Talosian singing plant (β)