Once in a while I come across an article and it makes me think, "Damn! I should be blogging that."
Well, this is a good one. A serious article on plant intelligence, one that doesn't involve 60's flower power and fairies in the garden:
"...extraordinary new findings on how plants investigate and respond to their environments are part of a sprouting debate over the nature of intelligence itself."
and more,
"...the late Nobel Prize-winning plant geneticist Barbara McClintock called plant cells "thoughtful." Darwin wrote about root-tip "brains." Not only can plants communicate with each other and with insects by coded gas exhalations, scientists say now, they can perform Euclidean geometry calculations through cellular computations and, like a peeved boss, remember the tiniest transgression for months."
Anyone who is an orchid enthusiast will nod along with the article and say, "yes, I knew that. I'm aware that those clever little buggers have me wrapped around their inflorescence." Kind of like a dog owner who knows, just knows, that their pooches have emotions. It doesn't require a scientist to state the obvious, but it's nice to have it validated anyway.
Full story:
New research opens a window on the minds of plants - CSM March 3rd edition
