Plants Have Perception: "Magical Abilities" That Surpass Those of Humans

It’s truly astonishing how these seemingly silent little lives possess such profound perception and foresight! Scientists believe plants are intricate organisms equipped with senses of smell and hearing, various types of memory, and defensive capabilities. They lead rich and sensitive lives, even exhibiting social behaviors.

Professor Jack Schultz from the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Missouri in Columbia has spent four decades studying plant-insect interactions. His colleagues, Heidi Appel and Rex Cocroft, are exploring plants' abilities to perceive sound.

Their experiments revealed that when a hungry caterpillar approaches a plant, the sounds of chewing trigger the plant to emit chemical defenses to ward off the insect. Meanwhile, the plants showed no reaction to natural sounds like wind or even Beethoven’s music.

Without ears, why do plants respond defensively to harmful sounds? Appel and Cocroft suggest that plants might convert the small deformations caused by sound waves into electrical or chemical signals. Interestingly, an experiment conducted 50 years ago suggested plants may possess a form of telepathy, becoming aware of impending harm and responding defensively before it occurs.

Plants' "Active Thinking"

The late plant geneticist and Nobel Prize laureate Barbara McClintock described plant cells as having “thoughtfulness.” Plants exhibit the life characteristic common to all organisms: the ability to seek benefits and avoid harm. This allows them to respond to changes in their environment, though such responses are often subtle and go unnoticed.

The sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica), for instance, quickly folds its leaves when touched. The Xieqi Research Institute explains: "This reaction is primarily due to the disruption in the balance of potassium and chloride ions in the plant cells upon stimulation, causing water to move from the leaves to the roots via the stem. This reduces turgor pressure, leading to its leaves drooping."

Plants' "Temperament"

Scientists have conducted experiments where two cuttings from the same parent plant, or two cloned plants from the same source, showed different behaviors even when grown under identical conditions.

Researchers believe plants can regulate their growth in response to environmental changes. For example, planting the same species in northern and southern regions results in different growth sizes. Environmental factors influence gene expression, resulting in various proteins and metabolic processes, ultimately leading to visible differences. Temperature variations can affect plant morphology, and different soil properties can influence plant growth and development.

Plants' "Memory"

American polygraph expert Cleve Baxter conducted an experiment by attaching lie detector electrodes to plant leaves. To demonstrate plant memory, Baxter placed two plants side by side in a room. Six identically dressed individuals wearing masks walked past; one damaged a plant. Later, as they passed again, the detector showed a strong response when the damaging individual was near.

Baxter’s experiment led scientists to conclude that a chemical substance called jasmonic acid plays a role. Plant hormones convert linoleic acid into jasmonic acid, a compound similar to prostaglandins in animals.

Plants' "Telepathic Communication with Humans"

The notion that human thoughts and emotions can communicate with plants may seem unbelievable, but recent scientific advances in this area have garnered widespread attention.

In the U.S., a woman named Winnie from Oakland conducted an experiment: she picked two leaves from a saxifrage plant, placing one by her bedside and the other in her living room. Each morning, Winnie would check the leaf by her bed, hoping it would stay fresh, while ignoring the other. After a month, the neglected leaf wilted and dried out, while the attended leaf remained fresh, suggesting human emotions can indeed communicate with plants.