Do Plants Communicate?

Blog Post November 2024

Hi Everyone,

It is amazing that it is already the end of November. Time is moving by very quickly for me right now. The weather has been so mild, I have been working on our garden right up to last week! And, I finally planted my garlic!

Last month I showed you a picture of our blooming hibiscus. This month, we have an amazing amaryllis.

Do you eat pumpkin seeds? Last month, I came across an article about their health benefits and meant to include them in my blog. I had thought that many of you might have had pumpkins for Hallowe’en. So, better late than never, here some benefits I gleaned from my reading.  Pumpkin seeds are high in magnesium and fiber, and can:

1. Reduce levels of LDL cholesterol.
2. Kill parasites.
3. Prevent kidney stones.
4. Improve prostrate and bladder health.
5. Reduce inflammation of arthritis.
6. Promote good sleep.
7. Reduce risks for certain cancers.
8. Improve heart health.
9. Lower blood sugar levels.

Why not include them in your diet! We roasted seeds from our pumpkin last month with some garlic powder and salt, and they were delicious.

I’m still on a “plant” theme this month. I just finished reading The Light Eaters by Zoe Schlanger and I highly recommend it.

From my point of view, this is a must read book. Zoe Schlanger is a journalist who became fascinated with plants and nature. She quit her job to research the latest findings in botany, and interviewed dozens of scientists who are making discoveries about plants that challenge the widely held assumptions we have about the incredible natural world in which we live.

The latest research shows that plants communicate with each other, recognize their kin, and treat them preferentially. They have memory and defend themselves against predators (and some are even able to call for wasps to help them rid themselves of caterpillars). They have personalities and influence other plants. We see that plants have perhaps developed a parallel system of intelligence to humans, one which we know very little about and are struggling to understand. Zoe Schlanger gives numerous examples to back all this up.

Zoe also discusses the reticence of scientists to call plants conscious and intelligent. She ends the book discussing ethics as applied to plants. There is no doubt that plants made animal life possible by changing the earth’s atmosphere from toxic carbon dioxide to breathable oxygen. They are still doing that today!

We would not survive without the food that they provide. It is humbling to think of what we give them in return.