MadSci Network: Botany
Query:

Re: Does broccoli have a nervous system?

Date: Fri Dec 15 19:01:43 2006
Posted By: David Hershey, Faculty, Botany, NA
Area of science: Botany
ID: 1166048824.Bt
Message:

There is actually a webpage that addresses this claim (see first reference). 

Plants do not have a nervous system; they lack the brain, spinal cord and
neurons that we have. A google.com image search for "human nervous system"
produces many illustrations of the human nervous system. However, an image
search for "plant nervous system" produces no such illustrations. The few
websites that use the term "nervous system" to refer to plants often place it in
quotes, which indicates that it is a stretch to use the term for plants.  

However, plants are very sophisticated at sensing and responding to many
environmental factors such as light, gravity and touch. They sense and respond
using a variety of chemical compounds and, in some cases, electrical signaling.
Wounded plants can respond to the damage by sealing off the damaged section with
new cells but they do not feel pain.   

The bestselling book, The Secret Life of Plants, claimed that plants preferred
different kinds of music, could communicate with people and even identify a
murderer. Real botanists consider such claims false and label them as
pseudoscience. Claims that plants feel pain would be considered pseudoscience.

References


Broccoli vs. Animals?


Re: do plants have emotional feelings?


Pseudoscience





Current Queue | Current Queue for Botany | Botany archives

Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Botany.



MadSci Home | Information | Search | Random Knowledge Generator | MadSci Archives | Mad Library | MAD Labs | MAD FAQs | Ask a ? | Join Us! | Help Support MadSci


MadSci Network, webadmin@madsci.org
© 1995-2006. All rights reserved.