Planta Sapiens

Have you ever sat and watched a plant? The very idea itself might seem strange. We like to watch things that move, that do something. But in fact, plants are doing a great deal too - plants behave, as animals do - they are just doing it on a very different timescale. They cannot move about freely like animals do, so they grow into space instead and make new chemicals to interact with the species around them. Not only that, but what causes them to do these things, what drives this behaviour, is far more similar than we humans, with our speedy, animal-centric perceptions, have always assumed. If we learn to look differently, we might be amazed at what we find.

We are dismantling the traditional hierarchies of nature: we are becoming increasingly aware of the interior lives of other species and how much we share with them. We are also coming to understand that there are many more ways to be intelligent than we have previously believed. We can't see ourselves as the only, privileged intelligent life on Earth any more. And if we are to save the global biome, we must not. PLANTA SAPIENS opens up the plant kingdom like never before and will transform how you view other forms of life, to see plants as allies in tackling global problems rather than as mere resources; as teachers from whom we can learn about our own minds.

Calvo has a wonderfully infectious enthusiasm for his subject that makes this book, for all its complex science, a joy to read. He challenges us to set aside our 'zoocentric' perspective and to change our view of plants radically: from mechanisms akin to robots to complex organisms with a range of behaviours, responding to and anticipating their environments. In doing so, he has written a genuinely mind-expanding book -- Book of the Day Guardian
PLANTA SAPIENS is [a] bold and brave paean to our planet's ligneous, leafy kingdom. I mostly relished the intellectual interrogation, the maverick thinking, and add my voice to his call to think beyond our prejudices and our anthropocentric indoctrination Daily Telegraph
Deeply thought-provoking. PLANTA SAPIENS is a mind-opening meditation about the inner lives of plants. Whether you come away convinced that plants are conscious, or not, this book will change - and enrich - the way you look at the green life all around you -- Anil Seth, author of BEING YOU
A manifesto inviting us to think about plants and our attitudes to them in revolutionary ways -- Helen Bynum TLS
PLANTA SAPIENS presents 'fertile possibilities' to the public and in doing so it has put science on notice ... We should be delighted with Professor Calvo's seeding of scientific curiosity for the hope that it offers -- Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author of TO SPEAK FOR THE TREES
We are unimaginable without plants, yet surprisingly blind to their powers and behaviours. PLANTA SAPIENS weaves science and history into an absorbing exploration of the many ways that plants rise to the challenge of living -- Merlin Sheldrake, author of ENTANGLED LIFE
An impressive exploration and dazzling insight into the lives of plants Reaction Book Digest
Are plants conscious? Before you say no, read this fascinating new book @michaelpollan via Twitter, author of THIS IS YOUR MIND ON PLANTS
An important book Observer
PLANTA SAPIENS offers an exciting and detailed look into research on plant intelligence and sets the standard for future studies in this important and forward-looking area -- Marc Bekoff, University of Colorado
[PLANTA SAPIENS] takes readers on a journey into a seemingly alien world ... Read this fascinating book and your view of nature will never be the same again The Countryman Magazine

Paco Calvo is Professor of Philosophy of Science at the Minimal Intelligence Lab (MINTLab) in the University of Murcia, Spain, where his research is primarily in exploring and experimenting with the possibility of plant intelligence. In his research at?MINTLab, he studies the ecological basis of plant intelligence by conducting experimental studies at the intersection of plant neurobiology and ecological psychology. He has given many talks on the topic of plant intelligence to academic and non-academic audiences around the world during the last decade. Natalie Lawrence is a writer with a PhD in History of Science and a MSc in History of Science, MCantab in Zoology from the University of Cambridge. Her work has appeared in BBC Wildlife, Aeon Magazine, Public Domain Review, The Learned Pig , as well as on her blog, The Manticore.

A mind-bending journey into the secret world - and intelligence - of plants

Have you ever sat and watched a plant? The very idea itself might seem strange. We like to watch things that move, that do something. But in fact, plants are doing a great deal too - plants behave, as animals do - they are just doing it on a very different timescale. They cannot move about freely like animals do, so they grow into space instead and make new chemicals to interact with the species around them. Not only that, but what causes them to do these things, what drives this behaviour, is far more similar than we humans, with our speedy, animal-centric perceptions, have always assumed. If we learn to look differently, we might be amazed at what we find.

We are dismantling the traditional hierarchies of nature: we are becoming increasingly aware of the interior lives of other species and how much we share with them. We are also coming to understand that there are many more ways to be intelligent than we have previously believed. We can't see ourselves as the only, privileged intelligent life on Earth any more. And if we are to save the global biome, we must not. PLANTA SAPIENS opens up the plant kingdom like never before and will transform how you view other forms of life, to see plants as allies in tackling global problems rather than as mere resources; as teachers from whom we can learn about our own minds.

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