Name: The roots of plant intelligence
Uploaded: 2010-10-11T08:55:00Z
Duration: 13 min 33 s
Description: Plants behave in some oddly intelligent ways: fighting predators, maximizing food opportunities ... But can we think of them as actually having a form of intelligence of their own? Italian botanist Stefano Mancuso presents intriguing evidence.

Stefano Mancuso: The roots of plant intelligence

The roots of plant intelligence

Plants behave in some oddly intelligent ways: fighting predators, maximizing food opportunities ... But can we think of them as actually having a form of intelligence of their own? Italian botanist Stefano Mancuso presents intriguing evidence.

Plants are far more than passive, silent lifeforms—they sense, communicate, and even solve problems. A single rye plant can have over 14 million roots and send signals like animal neurons. Plants play, sleep, respond to gravity, and cooperate in vast underground networks. Their intelligence challenges centuries-old beliefs about the boundaries between plants and animals.