My 6th-level druid casts speak with plants, and then wild-shapes into a panther, or whatever.
Can she speak with plants while wild-shaped?
Wild Shape says:
You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so.
Clearly being wild-shaped into an animal incapable of speech prevents normal vocal speech, but does it prevent magical communication?
The spell does not discuss how this communication takes place. It uses language like:
You imbue plants within 30 feet of you with limited sentience and animation, giving them the ability to communicate with you and follow your simple commands.
and
If a plant creature is in the area, you can communicate with it as if you shared a common language…
It seems reasonable to me, and, yes, it's up to the GM, but are there other rules that determine whether she can talk to the plants while wild-shaped?
This is related to but different from this question, which discusses issuing commands to summoned animals while wild-shaped. It's different because with speak to plants the plants are already not communicating with the druid by a normal vocal language. Or maybe they are . . . maybe it gives them little mouths, or the ability to rub branches together to make speech sounds, it doesn't say how the plants are communicating, but such an interpretation isn't present in the rules, and would be up to the GM.
Best Answer
According to RAW, yes.
Other posts have established that magical abilities and spells (and conditions) that occur before wildshaping do in fact carry over to the wildshape.
Beyond that, the key wording is
"As if" implies pretty much any mechanism could be used, and it could be argued it takes whatever form the spellcaster wants.
So while nobody else in your party might understand whatever sounds you're making as a jaguar (or potentially no sounds at all), the plants certainly will.