Tigrilla Gardenia

In a green frame of mind: behavioural ecology and cognitive nature of plants

In a green frame of mind: perspectives on the behavioural ecology and cognitive nature of plants is a call for more research. In this part 1 look, Monica Gagliano, bravely lays a foundation as to why plants, in spite of their clear cognitive behaviors, are not see as the complex, thinking beings they are.

It is increasingly recognized that plants are highly sensitive organisms that perceive, assess, learn, remember, resolve problems, make decisions and communicate with each other…However, the fact that many of the sophisticated behaviours plants exhibit reveal cognitive competences, which are generally attributed to humans and some non-human animals, has remained unappreciated.

She even goes so far as to express that we, as humans, could be hard-wired to not see plants for who kin are because of their sessile nature.

…our understanding of the behavioural and cognitive features of non-human others is at least partly tied up with our own perception of movement. Unfortunately, this instinctive connection between cognition and human-like movement excludes species that also accomplish these feats but in completely different ways. In other words, the critical issue here is that a theoretical construct resulting from this operational stance is sure to judge the behaviour of other species subjectively and, most importantly, deny the presence of cognitive abilities which others (e.g. non-neural and presumably motionless organisms like plants) possess and apply to solve problems and make a living.

We conclude our exploration of Monica Gagliano’s Point of View, In a green frame of mind: perspectives on the behavioural ecology and cognitive nature of plants, with the researcher providing concepts and approaches–such as plant bioacoustics–that could enhance and develop our understanding of the behavioral and cognitive ability in plants.

Building from there, we love on to a study released recently that is making the rounds in every language–Stressed Plants ‘Cry’—and Some Animals Can Probably Hear Them–and how this, and the previous study coming out of the same lab about how plants can hear the buzz of their pollinators, is a step toward the plant bioacoustics research Gagliano asks for.

Discover this paper about plant intelligence:

Part 1 | Part 2

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View the paper here

Gagliano, Monica. (2014). In a green frame of mind: Perspectives on the behavioural ecology and cognitive nature of plants. AoB plants. 7. 10.1093/aobpla/plu075.

Incorvaia, Darren. (2023). This is what it sounds like when plants cry. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/30/science/plant-sounds-stress.html

Donahue, Michelle. (2019). Flowers can hear buzzing bees–and it makes their nectar sweeter. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/flowers-can-hear-bees-and-make-their-nectar-sweeter

Denet, Marie Liesbeth et al. (2019). Sound perception in plants: from ecological significance to molecular understanding, Trends in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2023.03.003.

Khait et al. (2023). Sounds emitted by plants under stress are airborne and informative. Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.03.009

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