Plant intelligence

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Plant intelligence

JC Bose's picture moved to his own section

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{{Short description|Proposed cognition of plants}}
{{Short description|Proposed cognition of plants}}
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[[File:J.C.Bose.JPG|thumb|[[Jagadish Chandra Bose|J. C. Bose]] has been described as the "father of plant neurobiology".]]
'''Plant intelligence''' is a field of [[Botany|plant biology]] which aims to understand how plants process the information they obtain from their [[Natural environment|environment]].{{cite journal|author=Trewavas, Anthony|year=2016|title=Plant Intelligence: An Overview|journal=BioScience|url=https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-abstract/66/7/542/2463205|volume=66|issue=7|pages=542–551|doi=10.1093/biosci/biw048}}{{cite journal|author=Trewavas, Anthony|year=2017|title=The foundations of plant intelligence|journal=Interface Focus|volume=7|issue=3|article-number=20160098|doi=10.1098/rsfs.2016.0098|pmid=28479977|pmc=5413888}} Plant intelligence has been defined as "any type of intentional and flexible behavior that is beneficial and enables the organism to achieve its goal".{{cite journal|author=Khattar, J., Calvo, P., Vandebroek, I|year=2022|title=Understanding interdisciplinary perspectives of plant intelligence: Is it a matter of science, language, or subjectivity?|journal= Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine|volume=18|issue=1|article-number=41|doi=10.1186/s13002-022-00539-3|doi-access=free |pmid=35637487 |pmc=9153103 }}
'''Plant intelligence''' is a field of [[Botany|plant biology]] which aims to understand how plants process the information they obtain from their [[Natural environment|environment]].{{cite journal|author=Trewavas, Anthony|year=2016|title=Plant Intelligence: An Overview|journal=BioScience|url=https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-abstract/66/7/542/2463205|volume=66|issue=7|pages=542–551|doi=10.1093/biosci/biw048}}{{cite journal|author=Trewavas, Anthony|year=2017|title=The foundations of plant intelligence|journal=Interface Focus|volume=7|issue=3|article-number=20160098|doi=10.1098/rsfs.2016.0098|pmid=28479977|pmc=5413888}} Plant intelligence has been defined as "any type of intentional and flexible behavior that is beneficial and enables the organism to achieve its goal".{{cite journal|author=Khattar, J., Calvo, P., Vandebroek, I|year=2022|title=Understanding interdisciplinary perspectives of plant intelligence: Is it a matter of science, language, or subjectivity?|journal= Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine|volume=18|issue=1|article-number=41|doi=10.1186/s13002-022-00539-3|doi-access=free |pmid=35637487 |pmc=9153103 }}


'''Plant neurobiology''' is a subfield of plant intelligence research that claims plants possess abilities associated with [[cognition]] including anticipation, decision making, learning and [[plant memory|memory]].{{cite journal|author=Brenner ED, Stahlberg R, Mancuso S, Vivanco J, Baluska F, Van Volkenburgh E.|year=2006|title=Plant neurobiology: an integrated view of plant signaling|journal=Trends Plant Sci|volume=11|issue=8|pages=413–419|doi=10.1016/j.tplants.2006.06.009|pmid=16843034|bibcode=2006TPS....11..413B }}{{cite journal|author=Lee, Jonny|year=2023|title=What is cognitive about 'plant cognition'?|journal=Biology & Philosophy|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10539-023-09907-z|volume=38|issue=18|article-number=18 |doi=10.1007/s10539-023-09907-z|url-access=subscription}}{{cite journal | vauthors = Garzón FC | title = The quest for cognition in plant neurobiology | journal = Plant Signaling & Behavior | volume = 2 | issue = 4 | pages = 208–11 | date = July 2007 | pmid = 19516990 | pmc = 2634130 | doi = 10.4161/psb.2.4.4470 | bibcode = 2007PlSiB...2..208C }}{{cite journal|author=Minorsky, Peter V.|year=2024|title=The "plant neurobiology" revolution|journal=Plant Signaling & Behavior|volume=19|issue=1|article-number=2345413 |doi=10.1080/15592324.2024.2345413|pmid=38709727| pmc=11085955 |bibcode=2024PlSiB..1945413M }} Terminology used in plant neurobiology is rejected by the majority of plant scientists as misleading, as plants do not possess consciousness or neurons,{{cite journal|author=Taiz, Lincoln; Alkon, Daniel; Draguhn, Andreas; Murphy, Angus; Blatt, Michael; Hawes, Chris; Thiel, Gerhard; Robinson, David G.|year=2019|title=Plants Neither Possess nor Require Consciousness|journal=Trends in Plant Science|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1360138519301268|volume=24|issue=8|pages=677–687|doi=10.1016/j.tplants.2019.05.008|pmid=31279732 |bibcode=2019TPS....24..677T |url-access=subscription}}{{cite journal|author=Mallatt J, Blatt MR, Draguhn A, Robinson DG, Taiz L.|year=2020|title=Debunking a myth: plant consciousness|journal= Protoplasma|volume=258|issue=3|pages=459–476| doi=10.1007/s00709-020-01579-w|pmid=33196907|pmc=8052213 }}{{cite journal|author=Pigliucci, Massimo|year=2024|title=Are Plants Conscious?|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2024/08/are-plants-conscious/|volume=48|issue=5|pages=}} thus the term '''plant gnosophysiology''' is infrequently used.{{cite journal|last1=Michmizos|first1=Dimitrios|last2=Hilioti|first2=Zoe|title=A roadmap towards a functional paradigm for learning & memory in plants|journal=Journal of Plant Physiology |publisher=National Library of Medicine|date=November 8, 2018|volume=232 |pages=209–215 |doi=10.1016/j.jplph.2018.11.002 |pmid=30537608 }} Most plant scientists tend to avoid using the term "intelligence" to refer to plants in their published research, despite the rise of the term in popular science writing.{{Cite journal |last1=dos Santos |first1=Luana Silva |last2=dos Santos |first2=Victor Hugo Silva |last3=Scarano |first3=Fabio Rubio |date=2024-09-01 |title=Plant intelligence: history and current trends |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s40626-023-00306-z |journal=Theoretical and Experimental Plant Physiology |language=en |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=411–421 |doi=10.1007/s40626-023-00306-z |bibcode=2024TEPP...36..411D |issn=2197-0025|url-access=subscription }}
'''Plant neurobiology''' is a subfield of plant intelligence research that claims plants possess abilities associated with [[cognition]] including anticipation, decision making, learning and [[plant memory|memory]].{{cite journal|author=Brenner ED, Stahlberg R, Mancuso S, Vivanco J, Baluska F, Van Volkenburgh E.|year=2006|title=Plant neurobiology: an integrated view of plant signaling|journal=Trends Plant Sci|volume=11|issue=8|pages=413–419|doi=10.1016/j.tplants.2006.06.009|pmid=16843034|bibcode=2006TPS....11..413B }}{{cite journal|author=Lee, Jonny|year=2023|title=What is cognitive about 'plant cognition'?|journal=Biology & Philosophy|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10539-023-09907-z|volume=38|issue=18|article-number=18 |doi=10.1007/s10539-023-09907-z|url-access=subscription}}{{cite journal | vauthors = Garzón FC | title = The quest for cognition in plant neurobiology | journal = Plant Signaling & Behavior | volume = 2 | issue = 4 | pages = 208–11 | date = July 2007 | pmid = 19516990 | pmc = 2634130 | doi = 10.4161/psb.2.4.4470 | bibcode = 2007PlSiB...2..208C }}{{cite journal|author=Minorsky, Peter V.|year=2024|title=The "plant neurobiology" revolution|journal=Plant Signaling & Behavior|volume=19|issue=1|article-number=2345413 |doi=10.1080/15592324.2024.2345413|pmid=38709727| pmc=11085955 |bibcode=2024PlSiB..1945413M }} Terminology used in plant neurobiology is rejected by the majority of plant scientists as misleading, as plants do not possess consciousness or neurons, />{{cite journal|author=Taiz, Lincoln; Alkon, Daniel; Draguhn, Andreas; Murphy, Angus; Blatt, Michael; Hawes, Chris; Thiel, Gerhard; Robinson, David G.|year=2019|title=Plants Neither Possess nor Require Consciousness|journal=Trends in Plant Science|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1360138519301268|volume=24|issue=8|pages=677–687|doi=10.1016/j.tplants.2019.05.008|pmid=31279732 |bibcode=2019TPS....24..677T |url-access=subscription}}{{cite journal|author=Mallatt J, Blatt MR, Draguhn A, Robinson DG, Taiz L.|year=2020|title=Debunking a myth: plant consciousness|journal= Protoplasma|volume=258|issue=3|pages=459–476| doi=10.1007/s00709-020-01579-w|pmid=33196907|pmc=8052213 }}{{cite journal|author=Pigliucci, Massimo|year=2024|title=Are Plants Conscious?|journal=Skeptical Inquirer|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2024/08/are-plants-conscious/|volume=48|issue=5|pages=}} thus the term '''plant gnosophysiology''' is infrequently used.{{cite journal|last1=Michmizos|first1=Dimitrios|last2=Hilioti|first2=Zoe|title=A roadmap towards a functional paradigm for learning & memory in plants|journal=Journal of Plant Physiology |publisher=National Library of Medicine|date=November 8, 2018|volume=232 |pages=209–215 |doi=10.1016/j.jplph.2018.11.002 |pmid=30537608 }} Most plant scientists tend to avoid using the term "intelligence" to refer to plants in their published research, despite the rise of the term in popular science writing.{{Cite journal |last1=dos Santos |first1=Luana Silva |last2=dos Santos |first2=Victor Hugo Silva |last3=Scarano |first3=Fabio Rubio |date=2024-09-01 |title=Plant intelligence: history and current trends |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s40626-023-00306-z |journal=Theoretical and Experimental Plant Physiology |language=en |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=411–421 |doi=10.1007/s40626-023-00306-z |bibcode=2024TEPP...36..411D |issn=2197-0025|url-access=subscription }}


== History ==
== History ==
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The notion that plants are capable of feeling emotions was first recorded in 1848, when [[Gustav Fechner]], an [[experimental psychologist]], suggested that plants are capable of emotions and that one could promote healthy growth with talk, attention, attitude, and affection.Heidelberger, Michael. (2004). ''Nature From Within: Gustav Theodor Fechner and his Psychophysical Worldview''. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 54. {{ISBN|0-8229-4210-0}} [[Federico Delpino]] wrote about plant intelligence in 1867.{{cite journal | vauthors = Mancuso S | title = Federico Delpino and the foundation of plant biology | journal = Plant Signaling & Behavior | volume = 5 | issue = 9 | pages = 1067–71 | date = September 2010 | pmid = 21490417 | pmc = 3115070 | doi = 10.4161/psb.5.9.12102 | bibcode = 2010PlSiB...5.1067M }}
The notion that plants are capable of feeling emotions was first recorded in 1848, when [[Gustav Fechner]], an [[experimental psychologist]], suggested that plants are capable of emotions and that one could promote healthy growth with talk, attention, attitude, and affection.Heidelberger, Michael. (2004). ''Nature From Within: Gustav Theodor Fechner and his Psychophysical Worldview''. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 54. {{ISBN|0-8229-4210-0}} [[Federico Delpino]] wrote about plant intelligence in 1867.{{cite journal | vauthors = Mancuso S | title = Federico Delpino and the foundation of plant biology | journal = Plant Signaling & Behavior | volume = 5 | issue = 9 | pages = 1067–71 | date = September 2010 | pmid = 21490417 | pmc = 3115070 | doi = 10.4161/psb.5.9.12102 | bibcode = 2010PlSiB...5.1067M }}


The idea of cognition in plants was explored by [[Charles Darwin]] in 1880 in the book ''[[The Power of Movement in Plants]]'', co-authored with his son Francis. Using a neurological metaphor, he described the sensitivity of plant roots in proposing that the tip of roots acts like the [[brain]] of some lower animals. This involves reacting to sensation in order to determine their next movement.Darwin, C. (1880). [[The Power of Movement in Plants]]. London: John Murray. [http://darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialIntroductions/Freeman_ThePowerofMovementinPlants.html Darwin Online] : "The course pursued by the radicle in penetrating the ground must be determined by the tip; hence it has acquired such diverse kinds of sensitiveness. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that the tip of the radicle thus endowed, and having the power of directing the movements of the adjoining parts, acts like the brain of one of the lower animals; the brain being seated within the anterior end of the body, receiving impressions from the sense-organs, and directing the several movements."{{cite journal | doi=10.4161/psb.4.12.10574 | title=The 'root-brain' hypothesis of Charles and Francis Darwin | date=2009 | last1=Baluška | first1=František | last2=Mancuso | first2=Stefano | last3=Volkmann | first3=Dieter | last4=Barlow | first4=Peter | journal=Plant Signaling & Behavior | volume=4 | issue=12 | pages=1121–1127 | pmid=20514226 | pmc=2819436 | bibcode=2009PlSiB...4.1121B }} Darwin's "root-brain hypothesis" influenced those in the field of plant neurobiology many years later.
The idea of cognition in plants was explored by [[Charles Darwin]] in 1880 in the book ''[[The Power of Movement in Plants]]'', co-authored with his son Francis. Using a neurological metaphor, he described the sensitivity of plant roots in proposing that the tip of roots acts like the [[brain]] of some lower animals. This involves reacting to sensation in order to determine their next movement.Darwin, C. (1880). [[The Power of Movement in Plants]]. London: John Murray. [http://darwin-online.org.uk/EditorialIntroductions/Freeman_ThePowerofMovementinPlants.html Darwin Online] : "The course pursued by the radicle in penetrating the ground must be determined by the tip; hence it has acquired such diverse kinds of sensitiveness. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that the tip of the radicle thus endowed, and having the power of directing the movements of the adjoining parts, acts like the brain of one of the lower animals; the brain being seated within the anterior end of the body, receiving impressions from the sense-organs, and directing the several movements."{{cite journal | doi=10.4161/psb.4.12.10574 | title=The 'root-brain' hypothesis of Charles and Francis Darwin | date=2009 | last1=Baluška | first1=František | last2=Mancuso | first2=Stefano | last3=Volkmann | first3=Dieter | last4=Barlow | first4=Peter | journal=Plant Signaling & Behavior | volume=4 | issue=12 | pages=1121–1127 | pmid=20514226 | pmc=2819436 | bibcode=2009PlSiB...4.1121B }} Darwin's "root-brain hypothesis" influenced those in the field of plant neurobiology many years later. />


[[John Ellor Taylor]] in his 1884 book ''The Sagacity and Morality of Plants'' argued that plants are conscious agents.{{cite journal|year=1886|title=The Sagacity of Plants|journal=The Month|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924065946786&seq=229|volume=57|issue=264|pages=217–225}}{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=John Ellor |url=http://archive.org/details/sagacitymoralit00taylgoog |title=The sagacity & morality of plants; a sketch of the life & conduct of the vegetable kingdom |date=1884 |publisher=London, Chatto and Windus |others=Oxford University}} He says that, "there can be no life absolutely without psychological action — that the latter is the result of the former." He believed that plants possess a similar trait to instinct in animals which is gaining experience and passing down those experiences to descendants.
[[John Ellor Taylor]] in his 1884 book ''The Sagacity and Morality of Plants'' argued that plants are conscious agents.{{cite journal|year=1886|title=The Sagacity of Plants|journal=The Month|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924065946786&seq=229|volume=57|issue=264|pages=217–225}}{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=John Ellor |url=http://archive.org/details/sagacitymoralit00taylgoog |title=The sagacity & morality of plants; a sketch of the life & conduct of the vegetable kingdom |date=1884 |publisher=London, Chatto and Windus |others=Oxford University}} He says that, "there can be no life absolutely without psychological action — that the latter is the result of the former." He believed that plants possess a similar trait to instinct in animals which is gaining experience and passing down those experiences to descendants.
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=== Jagadish Chandra Bose ===
=== Jagadish Chandra Bose ===
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[[File:J.C.Bose.JPG|thumb|[[Jagadish Chandra Bose|J. C. Bose]] has been described as the "father of plant neurobiology".]]
[[Jagadish Chandra Bose]] invented various devices and instruments to measure electrical responses in plants.{{cite journal |author=Galston, Arthur W; Slayman, Clifford L. |year=1979 |title=The Not-So-Secret Life of Plants |journal=American Scientist |url=https://www.esalq.usp.br/lepse/imgs/conteudo_thumb/The-Not-So-Secret-Life-of-Plants.pdf |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=337–344 |jstor=27849226 |bibcode=1979AmSci..67..337G}}V. A Shepard cited in Alexander Volkov. (2012). ''Plant Electrophysiology: Methods and Cell Electrophysiology''. Springer. p. 12. {{ISBN|978-3-642-29119-7}} "Bose began by applying delicate instrumentation he had invented in his semiconductor research to deliver electrical stimuli and record electrical responses from various plant parts... He discovered that both living animal and plant tissues exhibited a diminution of sensitivity after continuous stimulation, recovery after rest, a 'staircase' or summation of electrical effects following mechanical stimulation, abolition of current flow after applying poisons and reduced sensitivity at low temperature." Bose is considered an important forerunner of plant neurobiology by proponents of plant cognition.{{cite journal|author=Kingsland, Sharon E; Taiz, Lincoln|year=2024|title=Plant "intelligence" and the misuse of historical sources as evidence|journal=Protoplasma |volume=262 |issue=2 |pages=223–246 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00709-024-01988-1|doi=10.1007/s00709-024-01988-1|pmid=39276228|url-access=subscription}}{{cite journal|author=Tandon PN|year=2019|title=Jagdish Chandra Bose & plant neurobiology|journal=Indian J Med Res|volume=149|issue=5|pages=593–599|doi=10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_392_19|doi-access=free |pmid=31417026|pmc=6702694 }}{{cite journal|author=Minorsky, Peter V.|year=2021|title=American racism and the lost legacy of Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose, the father of plant neurobiology|journal=Plant Signal Behav|volume=16|issue=1|article-number=1818030|doi=10.1080/15592324.2020.1818030|pmid=33275072|pmc=7781790 |bibcode=2021PlSiB..1618030M }}
[[Jagadish Chandra Bose]] invented various devices and instruments to measure electrical responses in plants.{{cite journal |author=Galston, Arthur W; Slayman, Clifford L. |year=1979 |title=The Not-So-Secret Life of Plants |journal=American Scientist |url=https://www.esalq.usp.br/lepse/imgs/conteudo_thumb/The-Not-So-Secret-Life-of-Plants.pdf |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=337–344 |jstor=27849226 |bibcode=1979AmSci..67..337G}}V. A Shepard cited in Alexander Volkov. (2012). ''Plant Electrophysiology: Methods and Cell Electrophysiology''. Springer. p. 12. {{ISBN|978-3-642-29119-7}} "Bose began by applying delicate instrumentation he had invented in his semiconductor research to deliver electrical stimuli and record electrical responses from various plant parts... He discovered that both living animal and plant tissues exhibited a diminution of sensitivity after continuous stimulation, recovery after rest, a 'staircase' or summation of electrical effects following mechanical stimulation, abolition of current flow after applying poisons and reduced sensitivity at low temperature." Bose is considered an important forerunner of plant neurobiology by proponents of plant cognition.{{cite journal|author=Kingsland, Sharon E; Taiz, Lincoln|year=2024|title=Plant "intelligence" and the misuse of historical sources as evidence|journal=Protoplasma |volume=262 |issue=2 |pages=223–246 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00709-024-01988-1|doi=10.1007/s00709-024-01988-1|pmid=39276228|url-access=subscription}}{{cite journal|author=Tandon PN|year=2019|title=Jagdish Chandra Bose & plant neurobiology|journal=Indian J Med Res|volume=149|issue=5|pages=593–599|doi=10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_392_19|doi-access=free |pmid=31417026|pmc=6702694 }}{{cite journal|author=Minorsky, Peter V.|year=2021|title=American racism and the lost legacy of Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose, the father of plant neurobiology|journal=Plant Signal Behav|volume=16|issue=1|article-number=1818030|doi=10.1080/15592324.2020.1818030|pmid=33275072|pmc=7781790 |bibcode=2021PlSiB..1618030M }}


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