“The Unseen World of Plant Intelligence: How Plants Communicate and Make Choices”

Plants are more intelligent and complex than we may have previously thought. In a recent interview with journalist Zoë Schlanger, she discusses how plants communicate with each other through a language of chemical gasses, make choices based on past experiences, and even exhibit behaviors that suggest a form of intelligence.

Schlanger’s new book, “The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth,” delves into the fascinating world of plant behavior. From tomato plants releasing chemicals to deter caterpillars to corn plants attracting parasitic wasps to combat predators, plants exhibit a level of agency and consciousness that challenges traditional views.

While the debate over whether plants have nervous systems or feel pain continues, research suggests that plants are constantly receiving and responding to stimuli in their environment. They communicate with each other through chemical signals, prepare their defenses against threats, and even have a form of memory that helps them bloom at the right time.

As Schlanger points out, it’s important not to anthropomorphize plants or reduce them to human standards of intelligence. Instead, we should appreciate the complexity and uniqueness of plant life. The next time you take a walk in the park, remember that you are surrounded by a world of plant drama and intelligence that is both fascinating and mysterious.