Mountains of research have confirmed that plants have intelligence and even beyond that consciousness by many of the same measures as we do. Not only do they feel pain, but plants also perceive and interact with their environment in sophisticated ways.
Just like an organism, they help each other in times of need or to warn of a crisis. The tree trunk, for instance, vibrates to “scream” to alert its neighbours to a water shortage. Trees can also taste, touch, smell, hear and feel. And they exhibit these characteristics just the way animals do.
Can trees hear when spoken to? Kind of. Of course, trees don't have ears like we do, but tree spirits can pick up the message of our words when we talk to them. This means that when you talk to a tree, it can understand the message of what you're telling it.
But do trees have feelings? Trees lack a nervous system, so they can't experience emotions that we feel, like happiness or excitement. Even though trees lack a brain, the fact that electric signals can be fired from within the trees hints at consciousness.
Through audio and chemical analysis, a University of Missouri study has revealed that plants respond to sound with more defense if they detect a threat. Plants can sense and react to temperature changes, harsh winds, and even human touch.
Given that plants do not have pain receptors, nerves, or a brain, they do not feel pain as we members of the animal kingdom understand it. Uprooting a carrot or trimming a hedge is not a form of botanical torture, and you can bite into that apple without worry.
While the studies suggest that sound may spur plants to faster growth, there is no definitive evidence that a gift of gab will turn you into a green thumb. Ideal conditions for growth have more to do with temperature than talk.
Don't look now, but that tree may be watching you. Several lines of recent research suggest that plants are capable of vision—and may even possess something akin to an eye, albeit a very simple one.
Your plants really dislike when you touch them, apparently. A new study out of the La Trobe Institute for Agriculture and Food has found that most plants are extremely sensitive to touch, and even a light touch can significantly stunt their growth, reports Phys.org.
Plants will definitely experience something like being “lonely” in pots because they miss out on underground connections. The majority of plants form symbioses with fungi underground, via their roots.
There is also fairly robust evidence that plant cells can perceive and respond to pressure waves, like the kind that are generated by sound in the environment and touch — like, say someone walking up to a tree and hugging it.
They're listening. That's the overarching conclusion from multiple research studies: While plants don't have ears, they can “hear” sounds in their local environment. More importantly, they can react.
Trees share water and nutrients through the networks, and also use them to communicate. They send distress signals about drought and disease, for example, or insect attacks, and other trees alter their behavior when they receive these messages.” Scientists call these mycorrhizal networks.
According to the bible only humans have souls, therefore trees do not have souls. Trees and humans relate to each other because we keep each other alive, we help trees . . . [and] they help us with materials and breathing.
Amazingly, they can live for thousands of years. But while signs of deterioration from old age in trees might not be perceptible to humans in our lifetime, this doesn't necessarily mean they're immortal.
During their lifetime, trees are not only able to adapt quickly to new conditions but can even pass on the 'memory' of such environmental changes to the next generation. This amazing ability has been proved for the first time by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).
At night, trees give out some toxic gases such as sulphur dioxide. This can be harmful to humans as well as other life forms.
Do Plants React to Human Voices? Here's the good news: plants do respond to the sound of your voice. In a study conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society, research demonstrated that plants did respond to human voices. In this study, there were 10 tomato plants, 8 of which had headphones placed around their pots.
Hugging a tree increases levels of hormone oxytocin. This hormone is responsible for feeling calm and emotional bonding. When hugging a tree, the hormones serotonin and dopamine make you feel happier.
Chamovitz writes, “intelligence is a loaded term,” but “plants are acutely aware of the world around them.” They can sense different kinds of light, evaluate chemicals in the air including those emitted by other plants, distinguish different kinds of touches to their leaves, and locate gravity.
Lots of trees are hermaphroditic — that is, their flowers contain both male and female reproductive parts. Other species have male trees and female trees, which you can tell apart by looking at their flowers: The male reproductive parts are the pollen-laden stamen; the female parts their egg-holding pistils.
As explained by plant biologist Dr. Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh, all living organisms perceive and respond to painful touch, but plants do not perceive or “feel” pain the same way that animals do because they lack a nervous system and brain.
For most plants playing classical or jazz music caused growth to increase, while harsher metal music induced stress. This may be because the vibrations of metal music are too intense for plants and stimulate cells a little too much. We think of this like massaging your plant with a song – they prefer a gentler touch.
Indeed, research shows that trees really do have healing powers. For one thing, they release antimicrobial essential oils, called phytoncides, that protect trees from germs and have a host of health benefits for people.
In fact, scientists have discovered that trees grow faster the older they get. Once trees reach a certain height, they do stop getting taller. So many foresters figured that tree growth — and girth — also slowed with age.