What a Plant Knows

What a Plant Knows is a popular science book by Daniel Chamovitz, originally published in 2012, discussing the sensory system of plants. The book explores how plants perceive their environment through senses analogous to human sight, smell, touch, hearing, and memory. The book has been translated into over 20 languages and has influenced discussions in plant biology, philosophy, and ethics. A revised edition was published in 2017.

Judiciously manipulating similes with dashes of anthropomorphism, Chamovitz introduces each of the vital human senses (all except taste) and explains its meaning for humans as contrasted with its function in plants. There are no noses or eyes as such in the plant world, but there are organs and responses that mimic our physiology. Much like how humans smell food, plants too have chemical receptors that bind to very specific gaseous chemical compounds. The author recounts how willows, attacked by caterpillars, send airborne pheromones to neighboring willows. Warned by these gaseous signals (or “smells”) of a nearby infestation, the neighbors begin manufacturing increased levels of toxic chemicals to render their leaves unpalatable to the caterpillars.