GOODNEWS - The Extrasensory Perception of Plants

BBC Supernatural, This is an extract from the episode that talks about extrasensory perceptions(of plants and animals. In the study of plant physiology, plant perception is a term used to describe mechanisms by which plants recognize changes in the environment. Examples of stimuli which plants perceive and can react to include chemicals, gravity, light, moisture, infections, temperature, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations, parasite infestation, physical disruption, and touch. Plants have a variety of means to detect such stimuli and a variety of reaction responses or behaviors.

Generally plant perception occurs on a cellular level and its concomitant reactive behavior is mediated by phytochromes, kinins, hormones, antibiotic or other chemical release, changes of water and chemical transport, and other means. These responses are generally slow, taking at minimum a number of hours to accomplish and seen best with time-lapse cinematography, however rapid movements can occur.

Research published in September 2006 [1] has shown, certainly in the case of Arabidopsis thaliana, the role of cryptochromes in the perception of magnetic fields by plants.In the study of paranormal phenomenon Plant perception, or biocommunication in plant cells, has come to mean a belief that plants are sentient, that they experience pain, pleasure, or emotions such as fear and affection, and that they have the ability to communicate with humans and other forms of life in a recognizable manner. While plants can communicate through chemical signals, and certainly have complex responses to stimuli, the belief that they possess advanced affective or cognitive abilities receives little support except in the parapsychology studies community and among believers in the Gaia hypothesis. The notion that plants are capable of feeling emotions was first recorded in 1848, when Dr. Gustav Theodor Fechner, a German professor, suggested the idea in his book Nanna. He believed that plants are capable of emotions, just like humans or animals, and that one could promote healthy growth by showering plants with talk, attention, and affection.