Don't look now, but that tree may be watching you. Several lines of recent research suggest that plants are capable of vision—and may even possess something akin to an eye, albeit a very simple one.
"Although people generally assume plants don't feel when they are being touched, this shows that they are actually very sensitive to it," said lead researcher Olivier Van Aken from the University of Western Australia.
Plants detect visible and invisible electromagnetic waves. Unlike plants, we can only detect visible electromagnetic waves. Although plants can see a much larger spectrum than we do, they don't see it in images. The photoreceptor which receives red light is called red photopsin in the case of humans.
According to the bible only humans have souls, therefore trees do not have souls. Trees and humans relate to each other because we keep each other alive, we help trees . . . [and] they help us with materials and breathing.
Mountains of research have confirmed that plants have intelligence and even beyond that consciousness by many of the same measures as we do. Not only do they feel pain, but plants also perceive and interact with their environment in sophisticated ways.
Plant memory
A study published in 2014 took on that very question. It determined that plants can, indeed, make memories, and can display their memory recall though learned response.
There is also fairly robust evidence that plant cells can perceive and respond to pressure waves, like the kind that are generated by sound in the environment and touch — like, say someone walking up to a tree and hugging it.
Trees share water and nutrients through the networks, and also use them to communicate. They send distress signals about drought and disease, for example, or insect attacks, and other trees alter their behavior when they receive these messages.” Scientists call these mycorrhizal networks.
The plant bears another name in Spanish, arbol de la muerte, which literally means "tree of death". According to the Guinness World Records, the manchineel tree is in fact the most dangerous tree in the world.
Marvin Meyer writes: "The "five trees" in paradise are mentioned frequently in gnostic texts, ordinarily without explanation or elaboration. In Manichaean Psalm Book 161,17-29, it is said that various features of life and faith are put together in groups of five.
Do Plants React to Human Voices? Here's the good news: plants do respond to the sound of your voice. In a study conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society, research demonstrated that plants did respond to human voices. In this study, there were 10 tomato plants, 8 of which had headphones placed around their pots.
Scientists already know that plants are highly sensitive to touch of any kind, and even have a word for this phenomenon, “thigmomorphogenesis.” If you've ever touched a Mimosa pudica (also known as the “sensitive plant”) you have already witnessed this phenomenon first hand—the Mimosa's fan-like leaves close up like, ...
Plants are surprising organisms—without brains and central nervous systems, they are still able to sense the environment that surrounds them. Plants can perceive light, scent, touch, wind, even gravity, and are able to respond to sounds, too.
Do trees like when you talk to them? Some do, some don't, some are indifferent. Trees are just like people—they're all individuals. That's why I encourage people to ask permission when approaching a tree, especially for the first time.
But do trees have feelings? Trees lack a nervous system, so they can't experience emotions that we feel, like happiness or excitement. Even though trees lack a brain, the fact that electric signals can be fired from within the trees hints at consciousness.
There are many studies that verify that plant growth is influenced by sound. Many found that at the average human conversational tone (70 decibels) there was increased production in plants. Not only will your plants benefit from your conversations but you may get a psychological boost as well.
The uses of the Moringa tree seem to be endless. Moringa Oleifera trees may survive despite high altitudes (up to 1500 meters) or very dry and arid deserts with less than 400 mm annual rainfall.
The Jesus Tree. Jesus said that God's heavenly presence was arriving on Earth through him and his mission. And he often likened this to a huge tree, growing and spreading in surprising ways (Matthew 13:31-32). Jesus even claimed to be a tree of life, a vine that offers God's life to the world (John 15).
Tree-of-heaven usually has low palatability for grazers; however, livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats) and deer will consume it during certain times of the year under specific circumstances. Goats will eat leaves and bark. Deer will browse leaves during the summer—especially in shady, forested areas.
Do trees really talk? Sure. Plants emit hormones and defense signals. Other plants detect these signals and alter their physiology accordingly.
Trees secretly talk to each other underground. They're passing information and resources to and from each other through a network of mycorrhizal fungi—mykós means fungus and riza means root in Greek—a mat of long, thin filaments that connect an estimated 90% of land plants.
Hugging a tree increases levels of hormone oxytocin. This hormone is responsible for feeling calm and emotional bonding. When hugging a tree, the hormones serotonin and dopamine make you feel happier.
Since then the government has forbidden tree hugging in the country. It's believed that tree huggers formed some kind of a dangerous cult and were a threat to the national unity since the government was convinced it would cause them to be overthrown!
As explained by plant biologist Dr. Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh, all living organisms perceive and respond to painful touch, but plants do not perceive or “feel” pain the same way that animals do because they lack a nervous system and brain.
Indeed, despite missing a heart, trees do have a pulse. Not unlike the circadian rhythms in trees mentioned above, there are a number of processes that follow distinct oscillating cycles.