Plants Possess a Form of Intelligence and Are Capable of Solving Problems [Study]

Scientists have discovered that plants are intelligent, but we may need to redefine intelligence in this regard.

Plants Possess a Form of Intelligence

According to a recent study, plants can sense when insects are eating a nearby plant. They can then change to prevent damage by releasing a chemical that alerts the bug and makes it an unsuitable food source. Apparently, plants are capable of problem-solving.

Experts are now calling to redefine intelligence to include problem-solving. Intelligence is characterized by a central neural system that transmits messages to other nerves so they can interpret information.

According to scientists, problem-solving skills should be included in the new definition of intelligence. There is no consensus on what intelligence is, even among experts in the same profession, as seen by the more than 70 published definitions of the term, according to Cornell University ecology and evolutionary biology professor Andre Kessler.

Earlier research suggests that when plants experience environmental stressors like damage to their leaves or stems, they release a high-frequency distress sound. Additionally, researchers have hypothesized that plants may be able to recall past events, count, recognize relatives, and even make decisions.

In the new study, researchers examined goldenrods, flowers that grow throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, and how they responded to being consumed by beetles.

Goldenrods in the vicinity noticed the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and developed the same defense strategy to fend off predators. According to Kessler, this would be under our concept of intelligence. The plant modifies its usual activity based on the information it receives from its surroundings.

In 2021, the researchers conducted tests demonstrating goldenrods' ability to recognize elevated ratios of far-red light, or sunshine, reflected from nearby plants' leaves. All plants are influenced by far-red light during their growth.

Neighboring plants have evolved by growing more quickly and secreting more of the defense chemical when they detect that a goldenrod close is being devoured. When there are no nearby plants, the plants do not undergo faster development in response to herbivores, and their chemical reactions differ significantly, even though they can still withstand significant herbivory, the researchers added.

Furthermore, it has been discovered that plants can "smell" the chemical that indicates the presence of a pest. Future herbivory can be predicted from a neighbor's volatile emission. Plants can anticipate a situation using contextual cues and take appropriate action.

Thinking about intelligence in terms of plants can change people's conceptions of intelligence and lead to new theories regarding the workings and purposes of chemical communication in plants.

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Are Plants Intelligent?

Many believe plants are intelligent, raising questions about whether it's right to consume them. Plants can sense their environment and learn. They also reportedly have memory and can communicate with other species around them.

One study suggests that pea seedlings can associate sound and light to grow in a particular direction. They can also reportedly eavesdrop to guard themselves.

Sagebrush plants communicate to keep each other safe from devouring insects, and trees work together by sharing nutrients. Prof Suzanne Simard calls the strategy "wood wide web" and notes that they do so more with trees they are related to than with "strangers."