Book Review: The Revolutionary Genius of Plants

Books have the power to transport us to another world in just a single page, all without electricity (excepting book lights in the dark!) or any other bells + whistles. Our mind takes direction from the written word, with our imagination being the only limit to what we see + feel. And every now and then, the experience of reading a book can alter our very perception of the world around us, quite literally opening our eyes to what has been in front of us all along.

The Revolutionary Genius of Plants is that kind of book. If you were like me, you viewed plants as a necessary part of the landscape, kind of a “ground zero” for the food chain. We know that plants are useful in giving off oxygen (breath is life) during photosynthesis, and as sources of food themselves as well as sources of material useful for our everyday lives (cotton, lumber, etc.) But the old description of a “vegetable” insinuates a living being that is of no use but for its physical body, having no mental capacity – however you might define that.

But what if it turned out that plants were able to store memories, even without a single, centralized brain? What if their still life was redefined under the scrutiny of time-lapse video to reveal that they actually move without muscles? What if they were even capable of manipulation: both of other plants, and of animals? What if it were proven that they actively deceive some plants + animals around them?

As someone who’s never succeeded at gardening, I’ve always been much more invested in the biology + behavior of animals – only incidentally interested in plants where I needed to be (what kind of nectar forage is currently available to my bees?), and the fact that there might be more to plants than meets the eye was a revelation.

The Secret Life of Plants came out the year I was born. When I learned of the book many years later, the gist seemed to be not only that plants have emotions, but that plants also possess powers of ESP (extra-sensory perception) + have UFO or alien connections. The authors tied bits of genuine science – of which there has been a startling amount of good science throughout history, which has unfortunately received only a small fraction of the attention it deserves – to their more nonsensical claims, such as that plants may understand our language. This co-mingling of the scientific with what has charitably been called “pseudoscience” turned many legitimate scientists off from the entire topic of plant sentience, creating a “taboo” lasting decades and stifling an extraordinary fact: that plants do, in fact, communicate with – and even manipulate – the world around them.

In The Revolutionary Genius of Plants: A New Understanding of Plant Intelligence and Behavior, Stefano Mancuso, Ph.D., has built upon the great work of scientists from our past while benefiting from our current-day understanding of cellular epigenetic memory. Currently a professor at the University of Florence in Italy and widely considered the world’s leading authority in the field of plant neurobiology, he has published over 250 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals on the topic of plant intelligence.

Although he speaks with a heavy Italian accent, Dr. Mancuso’s grasp of the written English word is elegant. He manages to convey the wonder of his subjects quite beautifully while also conveying the science of his findings succinctly. All too often it’s possible to get “into the weeds” of scientific discovery – no pun intended!

Gone are the ridiculous assertions of the past which were based heavily on anecdotal evidence. In this book you will be astounded to discover that:

• plants are able to form memories without a centralized nervous system or “brain”;
• plants are able to move – without muscles;
• plants are masters of the sublime are of mimesis;
• plants are capable of complex decision making, utilizing similar tactics that eusocial animals do when employing their “hive mind” to a particular problem;
• plants manipulate other plants and animals on a regular basis;
• plants demonstrate some of the most elegant forms of architecture in nature; and
• plants challenge our understanding of what is required for life and how photosynthesis works by surviving in arid climates which lack freshwater or have dangerously high levels of salinity.

In just about 10 minutes you can appreciate the incredible knowledge that Dr. Mancuso shares freely + eloquently as you consider his TED Talk, here:

I rate this book 5/5 Stars: just incredible.

Thanks for looking. Happy reading. xo