Plants May Have Sensing Abilities Beyond Those of Humans
Plants have an intriguing "magical ability" to compete for territory, seek nourishment, evade predators, trap prey, and even detect deceit.
Plants Have Sensing Abilities
Professor Jack Schultz from the University of Missouri in Columbia has dedicated forty years to studying plant and insect interactions. He notes that plant movements are intentional, suggesting they are aware of their environment. "To respond appropriately, plants need to adapt their complex sensory systems to varying conditions," he explains.
Schultz's colleagues at the University of Missouri, Heidi Appel and Rex Cocroft, are investigating the auditory capabilities of plants. Appel points out that while Beethoven's symphonies have minimal impact on plants, the approach of a hungry caterpillar is quite another matter.
In their experiments, Appel and Cocroft found that the sound of caterpillars munching on leaves triggers the plants to release chemical defenses to repel the insects. "Our research indicates that plants respond to ecologically relevant sounds in an ecologically significant manner," Cocroft explains. However, the plants did not react to natural sounds such as the wind.
So how do plants distinguish sounds without ears? Appel and Cocroft suggest that plants can convert the tiny deformations caused by sound waves interacting with their surfaces into electrical or chemical signals.
Plants Can Smell or Hear
Research led by Consuelo De Moraes at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and her team suggests that plants can not only hear insects nearby but also detect volatile signals released by neighboring plants in response to stimuli.
She has demonstrated how a parasitic plant called the dodder vine can locate a potential host. The winding dodder vine maneuvers through the air and wraps around the unfortunate host to draw nutrients.
De Moraes remarks that these plants aren't so different from humans. They detect smells or sounds and then react accordingly, much like humans do.
Plants Have Extrasensory Abilities
In 1966, William Baxter, a polygraph expert, accidentally recorded what seemed like emotional responses from plants using a lie detector, leading to a series of captivating studies that gained international attention.
On one occasion, Baxter wanted to observe a plant's reaction to a threat. He dipped a plant's leaf in hot coffee, and there was no response. However, when he considered burning the leaf connected to the lie detector, the recorder showed a sharp spike as soon as he had the thought. When he returned with a match, another peak appeared, suggesting the plant sensed his intention.
However, when he hesitated, the recording's response wasn't as strong. When he merely pretended to burn the leaf, the plant showed no reaction, indicating its ability to perceive his true intentions.
In another experiment, Baxter further demonstrated the plant's extrasensory capabilities: when a person attempted to restrict a spider's movements in the room, the plant seemed to perceive the spider's attempts to escape.
Plants Can Detect Deceit
Typically, lie detector tests involve attaching the device to a suspect, but Baxter connected the lie detector to a plant instead. He found that the plant could detect when someone was lying. He asked a person to state their birth year, offering seven options, one of which was correct. When the individual denied each option, the denial of the correct year caused a peak on the recording paper.
Dr. Aristide Esser, the director of the medical research department at Rockland State Hospital in New York, repeated Baxter's experiment. He instructed a man to give incorrect answers to some questions. The plant, which had been nurtured from a seedling, did not shield the man—it revealed all the incorrect answers on the recording paper.
Science now confirms that plants indeed have sensory abilities.