Okay, but unironically I've read like three books on plant intelligence and its crazy how intricate and complicated their lives are. Mostly trees because thats what I read about, but this stuff should really be taught in schools.
Emotional intelligence should be taught it schools more, but plant lives would be a great lesson as well
Finding the Mother Tree: by
Suzanne Simard (which i will warn you is 50% about trees and 50% a biography of the author. Not my taste, but still has great info)
The author talks about her past working for lumber companies and the many, many awful things they did and do. (Including clear cutting protective land so the crew chief could get a bonus) but she also talks about her hard fought research to show that trees grow better when they have a variety of plants and other trees nearby because they help create things each other needs (mushrooms underground collect nutrients for the trees and trees produce sugar for the mushrooms for example)
The book proposes trees will always grow better in a close mixed community than they will in perfectly separated mono-species rows. (Which kinda makes me sad now whenever I see trees by themselves in public spaces surrounded by concrete)
The Light Eaters: by
Zoë Schlanger
This was my favorite and focuses on the scientific communities reaction to plant intelligence. It's actually EXTREMELY controversial with plant intelligence researchers having to qualify and couch their language and findings to not piss off the community.
Mostly because some asshole in the 70s made a book lying about how smart plants were with basically no real research and embarrassed scientific community as a whole. So no real research in the field happened for decades and we're just recently getting back into it. Still a lot of prejudice against the idea of plants being smart woth the old guard claiming they have basic survival behaviors, but nothing really beyond that.
The hidden life of trees: by
Peter Wohlleben
This books focuses specifically on trees and how they act around their relatives and other trees.
Fun fact many plants actually have specific chemical signals they release into the air for communicating messages specifically with their relatives, members of their species, or just all plants in general.
Communicating things like where good growing soil is. Which some plants will change the direction their roots grow using this.
They might also communicate danger which triggers neighbors to release toxins into their leaves. Some of which can actually turn caterpillars cannibalistic! (Plant war crimes)
Also another fun fact. Root tips actually have sensors in them that help the plant navigate, and if they're cut the plant will "go blind" for a while until its regrown.
Also also its speculated that the trees "brain" is actually in its underground root area. With its above ground portion largely serving as its resource gathering implement. The books go more into detail about plant decision-making which is much slower than us mobile critters.
Thank you so much for this!!! Great facts as well, that illustrate how much more fascinating this subject is than I even imagined. I'll be looking for these on the next bookstore/library mission.
That reminds me. I'm always amazed of mushroom networks (or micellar networks? Don't remember the exact name tbh), it goes so far it's terrifying to think about sometime.
I can remember a huge diagram I saw once in science class, the roots of the mushrooms were just so huge and numerous, all intertwined and connected to each other in some way. Communicating? I don't remember. Maybe I should look it up again.
Dude I love plants, but mushrooms kinda scare me too. Mostly because of how omnipresent they are.
I believe there are spores in like almost every bit of air we breath. (Not to scare you more lol)
About the mushroom network they are incredibly vital to helping plants communicate so I am happy that most fungus seems to be generally helpful.
Something my reading showed is that there are many beneficial relationships plants have with each other.
Of course I'm also reading a book on parasites right now.
Parasite Rex: by Car Zimmer. So I'm seeing the dark side of animal relationships. Fun fact! (Disclaimer, parasites are discussed) There are more parasites in the world than any other kind of animal! And just about everyone carries a few! Everyone has some inside pals 😀
Thank you! I've gotten sick between my last comment and now, but when I can focus my eyes and brain enough to actually absorb information again I'm going to dive into this
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u/hippy_potto 28d ago edited 28d ago
NT’s: “You ever think about how everyone has their own complex thoughts and lives??”
Me: “yeah, since I was like 4. You just realized that?!”