To accompany ‘Are plants intelligent? It seems to depend on how you define it’  

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

1. What does it mean to be intelligent? List at least three abilities or traits that you think an organism should have to be considered intelligent.
2. Visualize a specific plant and where it lives — it could be a tree in a forest, a houseplant on a windowsill, a flower growing in a sidewalk crack or something else. Describe the environment it lives in. What are three needs or challenges it may face in its daily life? How might it address these needs?

During Reading:

1. Briefly describe the first reported evidence that plants can communicate with each other.
2. List three types of information that plants can share with other plants.
3. Why might it be important for plants to be able to send messages to insects?
4. What type of signals did a team in Israel detect from plants under stress?
5. In a 2014 study, how did mimosa plants change their response to being dropped? What did the researchers conclude from this outcome?
6. Name a chemical that both animals and plants use to send signals within their bodies. What is one type of message plants send using this chemical?
7. What tissues make up a plant’s “plumbing system”?
8. How were these tissues referred to in older research papers, according to Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh?
9. Whether plants can “hear” is an ongoing debate, according to Heidi Appel. What aspect of hearing are plants clearly able to do? What aspect is not clear?
10. What does Andre Kessler suggest is a useful way to think about plant intelligence? With this approach, what is his view on the matter?

After Reading:

1. The story describes research that seems to suggest that plants can learn from experience and remember past events. Do you find this idea surprising? Explain why or why not.
2. After reading this story, do you think plants should be considered intelligent? Give at least three reasons to support your view, using specific evidence from the story.