What if plants had feelings?

[applecorped]

What if science could demonstrably show that plants had the ability to experience pain?


What would vegetarians and/or vegans do?

Not being either I can't comment but if there are any vegetarians/vegans out there that have an opinion, I would be grateful for your input.

[linusrichard]

I did a report on this in middle school. The experiment that always stood out for me was when they hooked up the electrodes to the plants to "read" their "feelings." Whenever they gave the plants water or sunshine or love or companionship or conversation or music, the readings went one way. And when they gave the plants abuse, or destroyed another plant in front of one of the plants, the readings went the other way. But here's the fun part: when they killed a plant with the intention of using it for food, the readings of the other plants went the "good" way.

So - I'm not necessarily convinced that plants have feelings, but if they do, I think they're down with being eaten. But not with being destroyed for no reason.

[The_Animus]

The other plants were just relieved it was the other guy and not them.

[Neverfly]

I did a report on this in middle school. The experiment that always stood out for me was when they hooked up the electrodes to the plants to "read" their "feelings." Whenever they gave the plants water or sunshine or love or companionship or conversation or music, the readings went one way. And when they gave the plants abuse, or destroyed another plant in front of one of the plants, the readings went the other way. But here's the fun part: when they killed a plant with the intention of using it for food, the readings of the other plants went the "good" way.

So - I'm not necessarily convinced that plants have feelings, but if they do, I think they're down with being eaten. But not with being destroyed for no reason.
This is the weirdest thing I've ever read in my life.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

This is the weirdest thing I've ever read in my life.

Na. Depending on the OP's age -- he has either read Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land -- grass grocks it likes being walked on, or Adam's Restaurant at the End of the Universe -- the cow looks forward to being the evening's meal.

;)

[ServiceSoon]

Then the plants would kill us just like the movie "THe Happening."

[Neverfly]

I admit, I would like to know much more about how such an experiment was conducted.

For example: How would the plant know the intentions of the killer? Do you say aloud, "I am killing you as waste!"
"I am killing you as food!"
And then commit the dastardly deed and observe the readings?

[Elizabeth I]

But here's the fun part: when they killed a plant with the intention of using it for food, the readings of the other plants went the "good" way.

Schmoos. (http://www.deniskitchen.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=bios.shmoo)

[BigAl]

What if science could demonstrably show that plants had the ability to experience pain?


What would vegetarians and/or vegans do?

Not being either I can't comment but if there are any vegetarians/vegans out there that have an opinion, I would be grateful for your input.

Well, I lived in a hotbed of vegetarians, NYC's Greenwich Village in the late 60s and pseudo-science about plants was in the air, See the reprint of a 1966 article, below. It was commonly said that some professor at New York University used EKG machines to demonstrate all sorts of evidence of awareness in foliage.

I never heard any New Age veggie eater worry about bad karma for eating his conscious salad. (OTOH, I did get food poisoning in a macrobiotic restaurant once.)

http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/philosophy/Personnel/susan/LucyRhiannonRuth/CB%20ground%20breaking.html

There is all sorts of nutttery on that web site;

http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/philosophy/Personnel/susan/LucyRhiannonRuth/title%20page.html

[fromdownunder]

I had an alien spaceship of sentient plants visit me the other evening. The head Potato came out of the ship, and said take me to your weeder.

Norm

[madurobob]

What if science could demonstrably show that plants had the ability to experience pain?


What would vegetarians and/or vegans do?

Not being either I can't comment but if there are any vegetarians/vegans out there that have an opinion, I would be grateful for your input.

Well, I'm more or less a vegetarian. My input is that I really see no point in getting lost in silly hypotheticals. What if scientists proved burning gasoline made the planet Jupiter weep. How would this impact your transportation decisions?

But, if you really want to do this, why not explain what YOU would do if your scenario became reality? Why?

[Sun Countess]

Fruitarians (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruitarianism) don't kill plants, but only eat the fruit that falls from them.

[linusrichard]

Na. Depending on the OP's age -- he has either read Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land -- grass grocks it likes being walked on, or Adam's Restaurant at the End of the Universe -- the cow looks forward to being the evening's meal.

;)
I read both of them - I don't remember if Restaurant was before or after this, but Stranger was after. Also, I was wrong in the OP, this report was in high school, 9th grade IIRC.
I admit, I would like to know much more about how such an experiment was conducted.

For example: How would the plant know the intentions of the killer? Do you say aloud, "I am killing you as waste!"
"I am killing you as food!"
And then commit the dastardly deed and observe the readings?
I don't think so. I think the idea was that the plant somehow knew, maybe by picking up on the "vibes" of the researchers? Obviously that's the interpretation, not the methodology or data, but I'm pretty sure the researchers tried to get in an angry state of mind when destroying the plant, and like a "harvesting" state of mind, whatever that might be, when taking the plant for food. This was almost 20 years ago, you understand (not the experiments, but me reading about them), so you'll forgive me for not remembering every detail.
Schmoos. (http://www.deniskitchen.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=bios.shmoo)
Nice. I was also thinking about Doozers (http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Doozers) - a little less morbid.

[Neverfly]

Oh, so this proves that plants are psychic.

[six7s]

Oh, so this proves that plants are psychic.Not necessarily...

Instead, it seems as though vegetables aren't the dumbest things in the kitchen

[six7s]

...when they hooked up the electrodes to the plants to "read" their "feelings." Whenever they gave the plants water or sunshine or love or companionship or conversation or music, the readings went one way. ...Who are/were 'they'?

[linusrichard]

Who are/were 'they'?

The people doing the experiments. Sorry, I wrote that post kind of poorly, I guess.

[six7s]

The people doing the experiments. Sorry, I wrote that post kind of poorly, I guess.If you can name them, please do

Dates, places, etc of their experiments too, please

[Wowbagger]

Well, we all gotta eat something. It might as well be something as far removed from us, in the family tree, as possible.

[linusrichard]

If you can name them, please do

Dates, places, etc of their experiments too, please

Oh, sorry, no. This was a long time ago, I don't remember any of that.

[Neverfly]

Shoot.


Me carnivorous predator.

Plants are what food eats.

[Mercutio]

Then every time you stepped on a grape, it would let out a little whine...

[Skwinty]

I refer the OP to this link.
See the Backster effect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_perception_(paranormal)


and


http://skepdic.com/plants.html

[blobru]

I did a report on this in middle school. The experiment that always stood out for me was when they hooked up the electrodes to the plants to "read" their "feelings." Whenever they gave the plants water or sunshine or love or companionship or conversation or music, the readings went one way. And when they gave the plants abuse, or destroyed another plant in front of one of the plants, the readings went the other way. But here's the fun part: when they killed a plant with the intention of using it for food, the readings of the other plants went the "good" way.

So - I'm not necessarily convinced that plants have feelings, but if they do, I think they're down with being eaten. But not with being destroyed for no reason.
I admit, I would like to know much more about how such an experiment was conducted.

For example: How would the plant know the intentions of the killer? Do you say aloud, "I am killing you as waste!"
"I am killing you as food!"
And then commit the dastardly deed and observe the readings?
If you can name them, please do

Dates, places, etc of their experiments too, please


Sound like the experiments of Dr. Jagadishchandra Bose, and later of CIA polygrapher Cleve Backster, popularized in the book "The Secret Life of Plants" in the '70's.

Here's a summary (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060906213525AAZt1Kv) of Bose's findings from a believer at Yahoo! Answers.

And a review (http://www.ahpweb.org/pub/perspective/dec%202003/dec03review.html) of a book on plant telepathy by Backster.


ETA: & Skwinty's wiki link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_perception_(paranormal)).

[dafydd]

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3912162.The_Secret_Life_of_Plants

[DecayingAngel]

How odd--I just read someone's signature on another board that went something like:

"If trees could scream, would we be so anxious to cut them down?"

It is food for thought, if only in a philosophical way.

[Marquis de Carabas]

"If trees could scream, would we be so anxious to cut them down?"
Is there another way to shut them up?

[MRC_Hans]

I did a report on this in middle school. The experiment that always stood out for me was when they hooked up the electrodes to the plants to "read" their "feelings." Whenever they gave the plants water or sunshine or love or companionship or conversation or music, the readings went one way. And when they gave the plants abuse, or destroyed another plant in front of one of the plants, the readings went the other way. But here's the fun part: when they killed a plant with the intention of using it for food, the readings of the other plants went the "good" way.

So - I'm not necessarily convinced that plants have feelings, but if they do, I think they're down with being eaten. But not with being destroyed for no reason.
Mmm, yes, someone wrote a book about that, way back in the sixties. "The Secret Life of Plants" I think was the title. Actually, he was pretty vague about his methods, and what could be gleaned didn't look good. I think you could get exactly whatever reading you desired from his hook-up.

I contemplated repeating his experiments with a proper set-up, but never got around to it.

However, from a Darwinistic POV, it makes no sense: Pain and fear are things we feel so we may get ourselves out of harm's way. Since a plan't can't do anything to get out of harm's way, it has no use for pain or fear.

- And, of course, it hasn't anything that even remotely resembles a nervous system.

Hans

ETA: Link to info on mentioned book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Life_of_Plants

[Alex Libman]

Yet another argument against the arbitrary emotional drivel behind the "animal rights" insanity. Rights come from the capacity to be an economic actor, that is to reason, take responsibility, and respect the rights of others. "Feelings" are irrelevant.

[Lonewulf]

The "animal rights" insanity sure can't compare to the "Anarcho-Capitalism" insanity.

[Piggy]

How odd--I just read someone's signature on another board that went something like:

"If trees could scream, would we be so anxious to cut them down?"

It is food for thought, if only in a philosophical way.

"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason." -Jack Handey

[Skwinty]

"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason." -Jack Handey


I read the secret life of plants many years ago.
I recall the story the book relates in the beginning, about Indians selecting a tree to cut down for their totem pole.

The medicine man leads his band of tree cutters into the forest. He selects a tree and the band of tree cutters do this dance around the tree. The tree gets such a fright as it realises its about to be cut down and screams in anticipated agony. The other trees faint from shock and they promptly cut down the tree next to the selected tree so it feels no pain, and thus would have the "right spirit" to represent their totem pole.

Another good one was a piece of a cactus plant being used as a witness in a murder trial. :boggled:

[Kopji]

oh yeah, sure. This was one of my first science projects. Being raised in a family of total electronic nerds, I found a schematic for testing the 'responsiveness' of plants and built a meter that was supposed to measure... ... well heck I don't even remember now.

I do remember my dad helping grind off one side of two copper pennies to use as electrodes and helping me solder wires to them. (Ah the family that tortures plants together stays together.)

I selected a favorite philodendron (it had large friendly looking leaves), and proceeded to take measurements over several days while I talked cheerfully to it. It died. And so did the next one when I tried just measuring without all the cheerful talk. My report being due, I did what pretty much all elementary school researchers do - doctored my data so that it looked more interesting than it was.

In hindsight, I think it might have been the silicone conductive lubricant I used between the electrodes and the leaf.

[Neverfly]

Mythbusters did an episode covering some of this.
Does talking to plants help their growth?

They took a bunch of bean plants and in soundproofed separate greenhouses and subjected each group to different recordings.

One group had Muzak and enya type stuff, another monotonous readings and yet another had loud heavy metal music.

The heavy metal group grew the best. By far.

Which proves that heavy metal rocks.

Well... actually, their best guess was that the heavy metal was most akin to actual wildlife. Anyone that has spent some time in the wilds of Africa can attest to this one; Wildlife is very loud and raucous.

[Piggy]

Well... actually, their best guess was that the heavy metal was most akin to actual wildlife. Anyone that has spent some time in the wilds of Africa can attest to this one; Wildlife is very loud and raucous.

It may have been the persistent, throbbing bass, which may have been sufficient to keep the plants subtly vibrating.

Plants respond to wind or other kinds of movement, like being brushed against, with more vigorous growth.

For example, tomato plants that are regularly touched and tousseled are more vigorous than ones which aren't.

Perhaps the stimulation of low-level vibration induces the same response.

The "wildlife sounds" theory sounds bogus to me.

[Neverfly]

It may have been the persistent, throbbing bass, which may have been sufficient to keep the plants subtly vibrating.

Plants respond to wind or other kinds of movement, like being brushed against, with more vigorous growth.

For example, tomato plants that are regularly touched and tousseled are more vigorous than ones which aren't.

Perhaps the stimulation of low-level vibration induces the same response.

The "wildlife sounds" theory sounds bogus to me.

So if you want good pumpkins you need a vibrator? I dunno... touching and tussling seems effective enough to me.

[RoboTimbo]

Mythbusters did an episode covering some of this.
Does talking to plants help their growth?


They also did an episode hooking up a plant to a polygraph and subjecting it to abuse. They got interesting results when they (the testers) were in close proximity to the plants but no reactions from the plants when they (the plants) were isolated inside a metal shipping container and subjected to the same sorts of abuse.

I don't believe they gave a definitive conclusion of what they thought might be happening.

[fuelair]

I admit, I would like to know much more about how such an experiment was conducted.

For example: How would the plant know the intentions of the killer? Do you say aloud, "I am killing you as waste!"
"I am killing you as food!"
And then commit the dastardly deed and observe the readings?Obviously the plants are psychic.


Much better than psychotic.

[Pardalis]

If plants had feelings, it would give new meaning to the expression "to suck a lemon". :covereyes

[bickerer]

So what on earth (literally) am I allowed to eat?? Without it screaming it's angst at me? Dirt? No, I'd be wounding all the millions of little microbes. Plastic perhaps? Most life forms on this planet exist by eating some other life form, we're all fodder for something else.

[Lonewulf]

So what on earth (literally) am I allowed to eat?? Without it screaming it's angst at me? Dirt? No, I'd be wounding all the millions of little microbes. Plastic perhaps? Most life forms on this planet exist by eating some other life form, we're all fodder for something else.

Your point being...?

[Alex Libman]

The "animal rights" insanity sure can't compare to the "Anarcho-Capitalism" insanity.

There are just no similarities between them. AnCap is based on reason, while the animal rights movement is based on emotion. My political approach is gradualist, and my desire to withdraw from government would only affect me and those like me, while the animal nuts want to impose their will on society at large and as soon as they are able. AnCap seeks to maximize economic progress, while the animal rights nuts, through banning of medical experiments, would seek to lower the human life expectancy quite a bit... :mad: Etc.

If you are just trying to insult me, then your insult skills are lacking.

[arthwollipot]

This is the weirdest thing I've ever read in my life.No, I've read weirder.

So if you want good pumpkins you need a vibrator? I dunno... touching and tussling seems effective enough to me.True, but using a vibrator adds a certain...

...what were we talking about again?

[Lonewulf]

I think you guys want the sex thread.

If you are just trying to insult me, then your insult skills are lacking.

No, just being honest.

[I Ratant]

Not exactly "feelings", but certainly awareness of the environment.
These dandelions are in full blossom in the middle of the day, but begin to close as the sun goes down, fully closing when it's out of direct line-of-sight to the flowers.

[I Ratant]

The other plants were just relieved it was the other guy and not them.
.
Only in the view that there's less competition for whatever nutrition the plants compete for.
Some of the plants out here in the desert poison the surrounding soil so that nothing else can grow there.

[Autolite]

Feelings or not, certain plants should be killed off. NO MERCY FOR BRUSSELS SPROUTS!!!

[six7s]

NO MERCY FOR BRUSSELS SPROUTS!!!Is that you, Grandma? :eye-poppi

If not, pardon me... its just that she used to boil them for about 36 hours...

[Malkuth]

Plants do not feel pain. They do not have pain receptors, nerves or a central nervous system. The ‘screaming’ that sensitive equipment has detected when plants are damaged is thought to be caused by movement of gasses. The cut releases the pressure allowing gases inside the plant to move towards the cut, making a noise as they do so. And even if plants did feel pain, the average meat eater is responsible for ten times more plants being killed than the average vegetarian because all the animals that meat-eaters consume, eat huge amounts of plants themselves.

[Autolite]

What if science could demonstrably show that plants had the ability to experience pain? What would vegetarians and/or vegans do? Not being either I can't comment but if there are any vegetarians/vegans out there that have an opinion, I would be grateful for your input.

I think that I can live with the guilt of eating turnips after watching videos like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOwrX2XKZLc

[Autolite]

Is that you, Grandma? :eye-poppi

If not, pardon me... its just that she used to boil them for about 36 hours...

It's just that you can't be too cruel when it comes to Brussels Sprouts! They are the most vile natural abomination on earth and must be eradicated! And don't try and tell me that they're good with melted cheese or lots of butter. NOBODY likes Brussels Sprouts, and those that claim they do are LYING!!!

[I Ratant]

...
NOBODY likes Brussels Sprouts, and those that claim they do are LYING!!!
.
Wrong. Not only wrong, but damnably wrong! Egregiously and poltroonishly wrong!
So wrong that wrong isn't even the proper word for it!
When I could afford the aforedisrespected delicious veggie, I'd buy a box AND others to supplement, not hide, the delight one receives in the consumption thereof!

[Elizabeth I]

It's just that you can't be too cruel when it comes to Brussels Sprouts! They are the most vile natural abomination on earth and must be eradicated! And don't try and tell me that they're good with melted cheese or lots of butter. NOBODY likes Brussels Sprouts, and those that claim they do are LYING!!!

.
Wrong. Not only wrong, but damnably wrong! Egregiously and poltroonishly wrong!
So wrong that wrong isn't even the proper word for it!
When I could afford the aforedisrespected delicious veggie, I'd buy a box AND others to supplement, not hide, the delight one receives in the consumption thereof!

Really fresh Brussels sprouts, steamed, with a drizzle of melted butter...
mm!

Also good with catsup.

[Malkuth]

I like brussel sprouts too.

Not too keen on the turnip tho.

[Autolite]

.
Wrong. Not only wrong, but damnably wrong! Egregiously and poltroonishly wrong!
So wrong that wrong isn't even the proper word for it!
When I could afford the aforedisrespected delicious veggie, I'd buy a box AND others to supplement, not hide, the delight one receives in the consumption thereof!

Let me guess. You're probably also quite keen on broccoli too aren't you??? :sour:

[six7s]

Let me guess. You're probably also quite keen on broccoli too aren't you??? :sour:Eleventy Hell! You are my grandmother, aren't you?!?11?!?11?!?

[JoeTheJuggler]

Not exactly "feelings", but certainly awareness of the environment.
These dandelions are in full blossom in the middle of the day, but begin to close as the sun goes down, fully closing when it's out of direct line-of-sight to the flowers.

And some types of crystals grow in certain orientation to the environment (gravity and the Earth's electromagnetic field, for examples).

The leap you're making is to the claim of "awareness". Dandelions need not be aware any more than rocks need to be aware.

ETA: I wish the example you had used was of sunflowers or other plants that turn to "face" the sun. I would then point out that passive solar panel tracking mounts are no more "aware".

[I Ratant]

Let me guess. You're probably also quite keen on broccoli too aren't you??? :sour:
.
You know me so well!
Have we met?
Asparagus is another green favorite!

[I Ratant]

And some types of crystals grow in certain orientation to the environment (gravity and the Earth's electromagnetic field, for examples).

The leap you're making is to the claim of "awareness". Dandelions need not be aware any more than rocks need to be aware.

ETA: I wish the example you had used was of sunflowers or other plants that turn to "face" the sun. I would then point out that passive solar panel tracking mounts are no more "aware".
.
I wouldn't say "awareness" as we might interpret, a conscious decision, but these little guys and sunflowers do respond to the presence of light, and the direction it impinges on them.
Sci Am had an article on how the sunflowers manipulate their stems during the daytime.
These dandelions don't rotate with the sun as it moves across the sky, but their exposure to it is limited by the housing in the area, while the sunflowers out back in the desert obviously track the sun during the day with their unrestricted "view" of it.
Rocks, they are even close to being alive, so nothing should be expected from them, environmentally, except those that might crack when "experiencing" extreme cold.

[Pendelton]

Forget this nonsense of plants having feelings or if Vegans tremble at the thought of eating "plants that feel."

I propose a solution to 1) world population, world hunger, world strife, ect.

2) global warming

3) insert your choice here. . .

However repugnant my idea may seem, ponder the actual possibilities of a successful campaign.

Cannibalization as a means to "reduce" the contemporary problems facing the World today.

The only problem, as I see it, would be trying to find "healthy food"

Having driven past more 'golden arches' than I care to count, some of their customers seem to have an agenda of prepping for a distaster of some kind by "storing " excess energy as body fat.

Of course there is always an Organic/Health store to stalk for a tasty morsel.

I await your replies. . . :cool:

[Oliver]

What if science could demonstrably show that plants had the ability to experience pain?


What would vegetarians and/or vegans do?

Not being either I can't comment but if there are any vegetarians/vegans out there that have an opinion, I would be grateful for your input.


It seems as if Plants DO HAVE feelings given the fact that they can produce substances that warn other plants in the neighborhood:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biocommunication_(science)

[six7s]

It seems as if Plants DO HAVE feelings

Biocommunication (science) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biocommunication_(science))Communication means sign-medited interactions following syntactic, pragmatic and semantic rules. Signs in most cases are chemical molecules (semiochemicals). ...chemically mediated communication between plants[3] [4] and within plants.[5]Signs... signals... That ain't what I'd call 'feelings'...

[I Ratant]

Forget this nonsense of plants having feelings or if Vegans tremble at the thought of eating "plants that feel."

I propose a solution to 1) world population, world hunger, world strife, ect.

2) global warming

3) insert your choice here. . .

However repugnant my idea may seem, ponder the actual possibilities of a successful campaign.

Cannibalization as a means to "reduce" the contemporary problems facing the World today.

The only problem, as I see it, would be trying to find "healthy food"

Having driven past more 'golden arches' than I care to count, some of their customers seem to have an agenda of prepping for a distaster of some kind by "storing " excess energy as body fat.

Of course there is always an Organic/Health store to stalk for a tasty morsel.

I await your replies. . . :cool:
.
With my luck, I'd get Johnson's gamy leg!

[applecorped]

Biocommunication (science) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biocommunication_%28science%29)Signs... signals... That ain't what I'd call 'feelings'...


FEELINGS (Morris Albert)
Feelings, nothing more than feelings,
trying to forget my feelings of love.


Feelings, wo-o-o feelings,
wo-o-o, feel you again in my arms.
Feelings, feelings like I've never lost you
and feelings like I've never have you again in my heart.

[Elizabeth I]

Forget this nonsense of plants having feelings or if Vegans tremble at the thought of eating "plants that feel."

I propose a solution to 1) world population, world hunger, world strife, ect.

2) global warming

3) insert your choice here. . .

However repugnant my idea may seem, ponder the actual possibilities of a successful campaign.

Cannibalization as a means to "reduce" the contemporary problems facing the World today.

The only problem, as I see it, would be trying to find "healthy food"

Having driven past more 'golden arches' than I care to count, some of their customers seem to have an agenda of prepping for a distaster of some kind by "storing " excess energy as body fat.

Of course there is always an Organic/Health store to stalk for a tasty morsel.

I await your replies. . . :cool:

Swift! Is that you, Swift?

[six7s]

.Of course there is always an Organic/Health store to stalk for a tasty morsel.With my luck, I'd get Johnson's gamy leg!O, the irony of unhealthy health-foodies...

Seems to be on a par with the gloominess of those 'following the path of enlightenment'

Tis an odd whirled

[Lord Muck oGentry]

What if science could demonstrably show that plants had the ability to experience pain?

What if science could demonstrably show that rocks can be loyal and affectionate pets?

[applecorped]

What if science could demonstrably show that rocks can be loyal and affectionate pets?

That would be a great new thread!!

[I Ratant]

On my evening constipational last evening just before sunset, I noticed this cluster of flowers "looking" directly at the sun.
Went out this morning to the same cluster, hoping to see what I saw, which was the flowers having reoriented themselves quite a bit to "look" at the sun.
They're not -aware-, not being conscious but they do respond in a manner that presents the maximum surface of the flowers.. and even tho stems that are going to have flowers, to the sun.
And saw my first bee of 2009.
Usually at this time of year they're all over the flowers and blossoms on the trees, and quite conspicuous by their absence so far this year.
The guy I saw seems to have an underground hive. Disappeared in amongst some flowers and didn't come back out for a while.

[six7s]

scienceclarified.com Science of Everyday Things: Phototropism (http://www.scienceclarified.com/Oi-Ph/Phototropism.html)

...A tropism is the growth of a plant as a response to a stimulus, and phototropism occurs when a plant responds to light by bending in the direction of the light. Although plant physiologists (scientists who study how the processes of a plant actually work) know that this growth is caused by a plant hormone, they still do not fully understand exactly how it works.

<snip/>
Words to Know

Auxin: Any of various hormones or similar synthetic substances that regulate the growth and development of plants.

Photosynthesis: Chemical process by which plants containing chlorophyll use sunlight to manufacture their own food by converting carbon dioxide and water to carbohydrates, releasing oxygen as a by-product.

Tropism: The growth or movement of a plant toward or away from a stimulus.

How phototropism works


It was not until the 1920s that Dutch botanist Frits W. Went (1903–1990) proved the connection between phototropism and a plant hormone called auxin. Went discovered that plants manufacture a growth stimulant (which he named auxin) in their tips, which they then send to other cells in the plant. In phototropism, however, this growth hormone is distributed unevenly when the light source comes from only one direction. Specifically, more auxin flows down the dark side, meaning that it grows faster than the exposed side of the plant. This unequal or one-sided growth (also called differential growth) brings about the curving or bending of the plant toward the light source. <snip/>

Understanding what plant tropism is and, specifically, what happens during phototropism makes us realize that plants, as living things, necessarily demonstrate the several characteristics of life. Specifically, this includes growth, response to stimuli, and adaptation. It is because of its hormones that a plant's stem always grows upwards and its roots always grown downward. <snip/>

Source: http://www.scienceclarified.com/Oi-Ph/Phototropism.html

[applecorped]

scienceclarified.com Science of Everyday Things: Phototropism (http://www.scienceclarified.com/Oi-Ph/Phototropism.html)


Very interesting. Thanks.

[I Ratant]

scienceclarified.com Science of Everyday Things: Phototropism
.
I knew that! :)
It's another thing I've forgotten I knew.
There's more every day.
Sob!

[arthwollipot]

Let me guess. You're probably also quite keen on broccoli too aren't you??? :sour:Mmm. Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower... I'm a fan of most of the brassicas.

[Miss_Kitt]

arth, do you prefer large brassicas??

:duck:

[six7s]

Mmm. Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower... I'm a fan of most of the brassicas.The ACT Fire Brigade must love you!

[The Atheist]

What if science could demonstrably show that plants had the ability to experience pain?

Lots of plants weep from the wound if you beat them hard enough - does that count?

These dandelions ...

Dandelions?

These (http://images.google.co.nz/images?hl=en&q=dandelion&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2)are dandelions.

What you showed were ice plants (http://images.google.co.nz/images?gbv=2&hl=en&sa=1&q=ice+plants), which are succulents and no relation whatsoever to dandelion, a broad leaf grass.

Both close in the dark, though.

[Lonewulf]

Lots of plants weep from the wound if you beat them hard enough - does that count?

Hey, so does my car's gasoline engine!

[maddog]

I only eat meat and dairy, because I can't abide the suffering of the plants. Vegans/vegetarians, and especially fruitarians disgust me. Eating the very things that the plants spend their lives producing, egad!

Well, okay, meat, dairy, and chocolate donuts, but who could resist chocolate donuts?!?!?

[rwp]

Some people say that rappers don't have feelings. We do have feelings. Some people say we're not rappers. We are rappers. It hurts our feelings.I don't enjoy meat so I don't eat it. I like just about everything else. I have no problem with anyone else eating meat.

Also, I love questions like this where the goal is just to get the person responding to say what you want them to say.

"OK, but what if the plant licked your nose and was really cute."
"OK, but what if the plant looked and acted exactly like an animal you like and would never eat?"

[IMST]

So, as a vegetarian, in response to the OP: If plants were of a very different nature than evidence suggests, I would have to rethink the ethical portion of my decision to be a vegetarian. Trying to shift my diet to use products that did not require killing th producing organism would be a possibility. Whether there's any point in spending too much brain power on this kind of hypothedical, I doubt very much.