Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Robotic Sensing and Stimuli Provision for Guided Plant Growth
Published on: July 1, 2019
Smart plants: memory and communication without brains
1a Biology Department ; University of Washington ; Seattle , WA USA.
Abstract:
The immobility of plants is consistent with their principal function: collecting light to provide photosynthetic substrate for the biological system. Their immobility does impose limitations on some basic requirements, such as the need for pollination, for seed dispersal, and for protection against herbivores. Meeting these 3 needs will logically necessitate some ability for plant communication - at least a capability for beneficial adaptive behavior. Three types of plant behavior provide evidence of memory and communication abilities: a capability for memory, a capability for measuring time, and extensive evidence of chemical signaling systems. These may provide benefits for genetic outcrossing, seed dispersal and protection - beneficial adaptive behaviors. The chemical signaling system constitutes a wireless communication network that draws mobile animals into assisting plant functions that require mobility. Plants share their chemical signaling systems most frequently with insects and birds. These beneficial adaptable behaviors may be interpreted as some type of consciousness.
Related Concept Videos
Storage
Neurons as Communicators of the Brain
Cell Body
The cell body, also known...
System of Memory
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
Role of Neurotransmitters in Memory
Glutamate and Synaptic Plasticity
Glutamate, the brain's main excitatory neurotransmitter, is...
Neuronal Communication

