A few years ago I grew a pumpkin vine in the yard just for fun.
After it started growing, it immediately made a straight line for a wire frame I had some beans growing on. They grow several inches if not feet per day. I moved the frame and to my surprise the vine changed course straight for the wire frame. I moved it several times and with each time it seemed more hesitant to grow towards it. This seems to point towards not only sensing and making a decision where to grow, but also memory. After several times it finally ignored the wire frame.
I tried this with different pumpkin vines with different objects with similar results. They seem to prefer wire or trellis materials as they are easier for them to climb.
I do wonder how they sense objects. Could it be sound or light? Or perhaps a sort of sonar using ambient noise?
I did noticed that plants with more hairs seem more responsive to foreign stimuli.
Their leaves are of course photo sensitive, so can that be thought of as sight? I think so, we see by light reflecting off of objects, how is that different?
I researched and found there are scientific experiments proving plants indeed have a sort of intelligence.
They communicate through the roots using fungi in the soil and through the air using chemicals.
They show empathy for other plants, their relatives taking preference. They will give up nutrients to other plants in need.
Experiments have shown that under certain conditions, when a plant is attacked by bugs, other nearby plants will secrete chemicals to attract predators that consume the bugs.
I think science is near a breakthrough concerning plant intelligence. They have found that plant cells are similar to neurons.
Could the brain of the plant be distributed throughout instead of centralized?
Is it possible that they are far more intelligent than we give them credit for, just so different that we can't understand their form of intelligence?
