Book of the Month

Shuts and Failures

by Michael Maiello

Recognizing The Right Of Plants To Evolve

by artappraiser 10/27/2012 - 12:06 am

By Linton Weeks, NPR.org, October 26, 2012

[.....] After all, plants can sometimes exhibit humanlike behavior. And we're not just talking about the butterwort-flytrap hybrid in The Little Shop of Horrors. Some plants respond well to music. Some "smell" other plants. Still others seem to shrink away when touched.

Plants display remedial types of memory and possess "anoetic consciousness" — the ability of an organism to sense and to react to stimulation — writes Daniel Chamovitz in his 2012 book, What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses.

And, according to recent reports from a research team led by Australian biologist Monica Gagliano, some plants (such as chili peppers) may be able to "hear" other plants (such as sweet fennel). "We know that plants recognize what is growing next to them," Gagliano says in the University of Western Australia's University News. "There is chemical communication between them. Plants can warn other plants of a predator by releasing a chemical, and the warned plants can release chemicals to make themselves unpalatable to the predator."

She says, "I think we might realize that plants are more sensitive than we think."

Sensitive enough to deserve rights? Some people think so [.....]

Read the full article at http://www.npr.org/2012/10/26/160940869/recognizing-the-right-of-plants-to-evolve

Oh, no!  Sentient plants!  What will vegans eat now?  Will PETA evolve into PETAP?

 

by EmmaZahn 10/27/2012 - 10:29 am

An offshoot of ALF is the PLF - Plant Liberation Front, which dedicates itself to rescuing potted house plants and replanting them in the wild where they belong.

by Another Trope 10/27/2012 - 10:42 am (re: EmmaZahn)

Offshoot?

I have this recurring vision of the Georgetown Starbucks tied to this: 

 

A panda walks into a restaurant, sits down and orders a sandwich. After he finishes eating the sandwich, the panda pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter, and then stands up to go. "Hey!" shouts the manager. "Where are you going? You just shot my waiter and you didn't pay for your sandwich!"

The panda yells back at the manager, "Hey man, I am a PANDA! Look it up!"

The manager opens his dictionary and sees the following definition for panda: "A tree-dwelling marsupial of Asian origin, characterised by distinct black and white colouring. Eats shoots and leaves."

 
 
by PeraclesPlease 10/27/2012 - 10:55 am (re: Another Trope)

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