Are plants conscious? | Stefano Mancuso | TEDxGranVíaSalon

We already know that plants have all our senses (they can see, hear, touch, smell and see) without the organs usually associated with them and they have some more specific exclusive senses. We also know that they have very important and intense social lifes. But, are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings?
In this talk, Stefano Mancuso presents a new paradigm in our understanding of the vegetal world. He argues that plants process information, sleep, remember, and signal to one another-showing that, far from passive machines, plants are intelligent and aware.
Stefano Mancuso is one of the most important figures in the field of plants neurobiology in the world. He is a lecturer in the University of Florence, director of the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology (LINV) in Florence, Italy, and a founder of the International Society for Plant Signaling and Behavior. He is the author of several books and more than 250 scientific papers published in international magazines and journals. "La Repubblica" newspaper has listed him among the 20 people who will change our lives.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@willygrags4367]

Plants give us so much but all we do is take from them and destroy them. The way we treat our planet makes me deeply sad. Praise and love your plants.

[@jeremyr7147]

These industrial agriculture mass fields are like prisions for plants.

[@Sammie551]

eating them is part of destroying them

[@mehrangerami187]

not to mention the pesticide we spray them with so not only they get sick but also kill the bees who are doing their job! The vegans may just be the culprit who are assisting the planet with deterioration of the planet not the cows that are doing their thing nor the human. Should we treat animals and plants with dignity and value??? Absolutely! 09/20/2023

[@daisybackstar]

I live among humans, they think I'm a normal girl, but in fact I'm an alien plant, I'm imitating the human form, but in fact I'm a plant.@@jeremyr7147

[@jeremyr7147]

@@daisybackstar I identify as a Russian so whatever 🤣

[@CarlosGonzalez-hq2lh]

This really changed my mind, plants are wonderful living things, knowing they have some level of consciousness is just amazing!

[@mehrangerami187]

if they could only speak they will tell you about their feelings and how disgusted they are with the vegans. 09/20/2023

[@daisybackstar]

I live among humans, they think I'm a normal girl, but in fact I'm an alien plant, I'm imitating the human form, but in fact I'm a plant.@@mehrangerami187

[@rajendramuley5838]

Ignorance of 0.3% of Mother Earth about 99.7%of it has probably caused the present crisis and as such this presentation is of immense importance. Awareness like this needs to be scaled up, so that unjust destruction of plants and forests stops on top most priority. Thanks a lot for an excellent. presentation.

[@dustyeddy1046]

Great talk! Dear TEDx, as an audio engineer, I can tell you that even if the source recording is so poorly mixed, it is worth it to hand off to an engineer like myself to at least do some rebalancing of levels. Especially with such important topics as these.

[@youget2]

And with a variety of volumes

[@un-review]

they are a bunch of lazy fcks, they dont care man. We all understand your point and agree.

[@malcolmparkins1935]

Were you able to normalize this one and re-upload it yet? (asking for a friend)... lol

[@A129WOLFY]

cant believe I only just found this now, but I'm very glad I did. So nice to hear someone so passionate about plants

[@silverhairdemon]

Too bad the sound is so crappy, but a good presentation. Plants are so much more than they appear to be.

[@natureknows2850]

Blame the vegan audio engineer.

[@kornbread5359]

Nature Knows 😂😂😂

[@midnightmusic1087]

Ok, so pain is part of evolution so that organisms can escape danger. So plants having consciousness and pain would be totally useless for the plants. Also, if you really thought plants had consciousness, you would be vegan. 66% of all plants are used to feed livestock, so being vegan would save more plants and animals than eating animal products.

[@user-pd6ij7jm3b]

@@midnightmusic1087 True. But if everyone went vegan then there would be other demands and issues we’d have to deal with. Some people cannot be sustained on a vegan diet either. I think the problem mainly lies in how much meat humans consume and the way it’s done. Really it’s all about a balance and you can still be ethical while eating meat. If we reduce the amount of animal products being used, then the environment would be in a much better shape.

[@Octoberfurst]

Yeah I had to turn up the volume full blast just to hear him talk.

[@risingsun3907]

Pump up the volume!

[@334GTE]

À

[@solarpanel8195]

plants DO have senses to sense danger and other things.. thats why whenever a human eats something from the earth we should be giving thanks to the plant and to the earth for providing for us. this causes whatever we eat to accept it. this is the way of our ancestors

[@M.C._3369]

Solar Panel Agreed!

[@solarpanel8195]

@Earth Angel totally agree with this. Whatever we use from the earth we should put back in some way. I highly recommend everyone start growing as much food and herbs as they possibly can in these strange times we are living in. 🙏🏻

[@un-review]

That's why we should only eat what is called a "fruit" because it is meant for eating, not a plant body itself. Almost every fruit is basically designed to be eaten.

[@solarpanel8195]

@@un-review kinda. Fruits are actually a plants reproductive system... They're meant to reproduce the plant in some way. We eat them because those parts contain the most nutrients /water etc.

[@malcolmparkins1935]

@@un-review Are you currently on an all fruit diet?

[@Theaurumproject]

Thank you for this interesting talk. I have just listened to it now after reading your book “The nation of plants” and enjoyed it very much

[@mollyclock8238]

my understanding of plants, has been blown out of the water, (......m..)

[@thetruthseeker1606]

Great talk. Loved it!

[@mropinionated2849]

Despite the audio bugs it was a very good video. Glad I watched.

[@greghawkins1025]

You speak very good English. Thank you for teaching us about this subject,

[@basilcomitis7126]

Awesome video, thank you.

[@inderjyotsinghw]

Thank you!

[@l.g.a.8930]

Very interesting all the time and thank you for this video :)

[@tonmoyacharjee2491]

Very nice explanation..

[@aurorachavez1995]

Great information. Tkanks

[@Chalif5]

lol! I listened with headphones and it was fine. Why are people so dramatic?

[@Chalif5]

Also the fact that nonvegans think they can justify killing and torturing animals with complex nervous systems based on his argument is sad and pathetic.

[@robertorosati53]

Very interesting

[@davidwillis5016]

Thanks

[@vishalthakur5359]

Knowledge is everywhere.

[@daisybackstar]

I live among humans, they think I'm a normal girl, but in fact I'm an alien plant, I'm imitating the human form, but in fact I'm a plant.

[@chastitywhiterose]

6:07 Notice that the venus fly trap waited until most of the the slug was inside the leaf before it closed on it.

[@stevieray667]

Chandler Klebs yah i notice like if the plant was knowing what to do weird..

[@nuechternheit]

Because the slug touched that hair which probably sends a signal to close its leaf?

[@lilaclizard4504]

yeh they count to 5 - literally! Actually this is beyond that. They have trigger hairs & need 2 touches of these to close, then another 3 touches after closing to lock & produce digestive juices, but theoretically (and scientifically tested) the same hair touched twice will cause it to close & yet in this case it waited until the slug was in contact with all the trigger hairs. I'm guessing this is probably something beyond the science testing that was done, whereby if the touched trigger hair is not released, then it needs either release or touching of hairs on the exit end of the trap before it closes (the hairs are located on both sides along the full length, you can see the hair it touches to close in that video, but it's already on at least 2 others (one on each side of the trap) that it's in contact with. fascinating really & logical, despite their common name, venus flytraps are actually designed to catch crawling/sliding bugs not flies, so a slug is it's bread & butter

[@chiranjeevibelagur2275]

Yeah.... I too saw that and at the same time I have seen other videos where in the trap is closed when only a half/ a part of the full length of the insect was in. There are quite a few possible reasons that hit my thoughts: 1. As per the research there is a timer that starts when one hair is touched. The other hair must be touched within a couple of seconds/micro seconds might be (which I am not sure of the numbers). If not touched within that prefixed time won't get triggered. Just that the slug moves slowly it didn't trigger any two hair within the fixed time. I think the trap knew bout this hence evolved to have two hair very close to each other at the end coz of which the slug might have touched both the hair within the time limit and couldn't get escaped. 2. The Venus flytrap would have come across these slow moving insects before too. We also found that the plants have memory and thus it has it in its memory that this show moving insects won't pass faster so can wait until the hair is touched at the exit (as that's the opposite side to the slug entered) and then close so that the flytrap would get a complete advantage of its meal. Ideally, anything could be the reason for this you never know 😉.... I didn't wanted to make my response anymore lengthy by writing more ideas those are running in my weird brain...😊😊So ending it for just 2. Well, so what do you guys think might be the reason behind this??

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

there are 2 trigger hairs on the plant - so it centers the victim inside the leaf

[@K9.315]

Everything is amazing! Thanks for sharing, i would like if you have more information about the conection between plants, thank you so much!

[@moofymoo]

I think we should start a plant right movement/organization. PLANTA?

[@indigenouseuropeanamerican5976]

their is alteady a plant rights movement u can find them all over youtube if looked in the right place.

[@thegreatestshenfan6484]

PLANTIFA

[@ElGuimaro]

Plants are very light sensitive, it's almost their core business. The space surrounding the bean plants is very blue. The pole is red. I wouldn't be surprised if the light-sensitive cells in the plant are affected by this contrast in spectrum. As soon as one plant reaches the pole, the spectrum of the pole changes from red towards green. That's not an explanation for 'winning' or 'losing'. I'm still sceptical..

[@tanyawales5445]

The cells that sense light are in the leaves and the leaves of each plant are pointed towards the light. The color of the pole has nothing to do with the outcome of the experiment.

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

And what u dont think colorblind people are real people?

[@iammygloriousbrain5870]

I believe that plant are people too

[@corypalmer5495]

I don't see why not. If they are conscious they are just like us, except created differently.

[@singh163]

Amazing video!!! Wonderfully presented and explained Sir😇

[@aiagorreta]

uau!!!!!, amazing!!!!

[@GrowRaws]

Sei il numero 1

[@imranimmii6027]

In my first sight I noticed the greenery, I believe plant can think, move, weep, and answer

[@user-uz2es2zp2n]

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” ― Albert Einstein Love, peace, unity x

[@skiddlyd.244]

How can he believe that we evolved to ignore plants so as to not be overloaded with information? Prehistoric humans and indigenous people had to know all about the different plants in their area to know what was useful and what was poisonous or useless.

[@anavonrebeur6121]

Yesh, but they ignored their conciousness

[@Thundralight]

Consciousness is the quality or state of being aware of an external object[ or] something within oneself

[@VFAHSN]

How do we know if one is aware or just automatically responding to a stimulous?

[@uncertaintytoworldpeace3650]

@@VFAHSN theres not a difference?

[@SofiasBio]

YES!

[@habibadeyaa6689]

I loved the professor so much 💙

[@EndOfEntertainment]

cool stuff :)

[@AshutoshSingh-on8zt]

Just as the Physicist enters the video, he is proper loud - as Physicists usually are. And when we are back to the plant biologist, he is soft and low volume again - just like his other cousins of science. Wonderful talk this one though irrespective of the volume.

[@fenryx0]

I remember when I was about 8 or 9 years age I was wandering through the forest. I had a toy which was VERY sharp and decided to go "cutting" things off. I recall cutting some plants that resembled thistles. They secreted some sort of white liquid that I'd later on in life would go on to know is sap. I felt terrible after knowing that (still kinda do).

[@AntonioCampos-qh5jd]

Wish the volume was higher

[@user-fd3gf5bo8d]

سبحان الله وبحمده سبحان الله العظيم 💚💚🌴🌴❤️❤️💙💙

[@stanlyvarghese5709]

Wonderful speech👌

[@lyomadishny]

Amazing!!! Thanks a million for the wonderful research!

[@lunalucy1114]

Amazing speech, thank you so much for uploading!

[@michaelgodfrey9491]

Great video , but the sound is too low

[@Zulu369]

Volume of recording sound is quite low. I had to put mine to the max in order to hear the speaker. Next time, provide subtitles to help viewers enjoy this type of video.

[@Rezwolf]

CONSCIOUSNESS IS

[@habibadeyaa6689]

The video is amazing !💓💓

[@healthesoils]

✨✨✨ This is so exciting! I love this🙏thank you!🌿

[@SC-vb2ui]

Amore mio💗🎼 Plants 💚🌈

[@lewistricker8058]

cucciola bella

[@Romans_116]

Im sure someone has stated this before, "We are so disconnected"...

[@MasterplantsHQ]

Thanks for a great Talk Mancuso. Give us a call!

[@nobodyknowsanything3906]

Is it just me or is this a VERY quiet video? (I've got all my volume controls maxed)

[@HeduAI]

This is such an amazing talk!!!

[@Soint]

Thank you for this post. What about animals feeling pain or suffering?

[@mickeyc2137]

everyone already knows that they do thats common knowledge. but with plants, hardly anyone knows this

[@aishac6790]

Yes, plants feel pain.

[@cartapax5077]

Maybe new studies on animal behaviour & counsciousness are also needed

[@TheSunLights]

Top professor!

[@chastitywhiterose]

I am sad for the slug.

[@Sophieuzca]

Namasté!

[@Alex-444x94]

+Sofia Engeli Ojeda no.

[@MrSingh1150]

Wanna be indian get out of here

[@adityashukla2635]

@@MrSingh1150 sick mentality you have!

[@MrSingh1150]

@@adityashukla2635 she has no idea what that word even means. Just says it because she feels special.

[@adityashukla2635]

@@MrSingh1150 Everyone knows that namaste is used as greetings. Like konichiwa is a form of greeting in Japan. Or Hello or Ola or Bonjour We live in a globalisation era.

[@karencontestabile6125]

volume, please...

[@suddonlee4326]

Why did he cut out when the plant on the right connnected with the one on the left.

[@manasi1844]

Ancient Indians were aware about the consciousness of plants. There is whole chapter in 'Mahabharata' on plants. Proud to be Indian.

[@theadventurousallotmenteer6582]

As plants identify kin, I wonder what the effect of a cutting (replication) is on a cutting of the same plant with the same genetic makeup.. are they aware they are of the same genetic make up and consider the other plant to be itself, or does it consider the other plant to be its kin or even competitor? questions!

[@wilsnerbarrera]

In the ancestral is not something new and more, recognizing that everything is alive, has consciousness and is part of energy. All the information I handle and share with the people who follow me, come from plants like tobacco, coca and yage. It is already determined that some plants are going to be food, other ornamentation, medicine and wisdom. They are still very far from understanding that it is the nature and its function with us before the universe

[@JayanTS]

Great talk. Wonderful information. If they could move as like other animals definitely, they would have a brain and other organs. I have read somewhere that they can identify their beloved human friends. Is that possible? Can someone answer me!

[@tanyawales5445]

Trees store information in their roots and can communicate with other trees in a forest sharing resources. Sounds like a brain with a neural net to me! Plants are just different than animals. Plants can smell and taste through their leaves and roots. Plants can tell the difference between light and dark so they have primitive vision. Plants definitely respond to people and can tell if you mean to harm them. They can feel fear so they are self aware enough to have the will to live. Plants provide us with oxygen, fuel and food. What more do you expect of them than that?

[@aishac6790]

Yes plants can communicate with us. They can feel our presence and love. I also can pick up their consciousness through telepathy. Even the plants that we label as weeds and try to kill, they are conscious and they have medicinal uses. They have feelings.

[@barbrice721]

Yes. Two plants were put in a room. One man feed and watered and talked to them. Another guy would ignore or scream or pull a leaf. These plants were attached to a lie detector machine. When the good guy came in all was normal when the bad guy came in both machines reacted. Then one day the bad guy destroyed one plant the machines went off the scale. The good guy put the surving plant in a dark room. The machine stayed calm. When the mean man entered the dark room the machine went off the scale. The plant recognized danger in the dark.

[@DarkRenaissance2012]

Ive always said, the lower the consciousness level of a living thing, the more acceptable it is to consume it... Most all primitive/ancient tribes believed plants had a consciousness, and that animals had more connection to the conscious flow, and therefor deserved higher veneration when being sacrificed for food ~

[@GilgameshApproves]

+DarkRenaissance2012 i`d say both need the same degree of gratitude.

[@DarkRenaissance2012]

***** Somehow I doubt you give a horse the same gratitude you give a flower, which might be picked just to observe, before cast aside ;)

[@GilgameshApproves]

DarkRenaissance2012 i don`t pick flowers for no good use. that`s just me tho

[@TheCASimone]

A flower is to a plant, as a hair strand is to a mammal. Unless someone is ruthlessly ripping out a plant's root system out, it is not entirely the same. Even more so so dispensable, due to the short life span of a bloom. The flower is very much like a plant's offering to the world, it says take me, spread these seeds and ensure my lineage.

[@TheCASimone]

If I was a rose bush with 30 other sexual organs to spare, I would not care.

[@OneEyedDrummerTDHE]

If you ever watch plants in fast forward it strongly suggests so. No one said all conscious is experienced at the same speed.

[@szcl]

forgot to turn the mic on?

[@bertrandolf9733]

Hey TED, some basic audio processing if the recording was too low would be appropriate. Takes 5 minutes to do it really well ) Sorry and thanks!

[@seanmichaels8060]

The volume is so quiet. If I was watching this on my desktop I could turn up my speakers but I'm watching on my tablet. It needs to be louder.

[@SC-vb2ui]

Delicious 😋⛲️💚

[@anavonrebeur6121]

So glad I tamed ny mimosa. I thought she didnt worked. But it never shut her leaves because she was never afraid of me

[@jeffreymailly9822]

I would love to see another version of this testing an organic native plant with GMO's.

[@bertrandolf9733]

Please reupload

[@agentxyz]

plants talk but you can't hear them

[@rob._.]

I've seen a video of mythbusters that the plant could sense intentions

[@ishana6038]

was it busted?

[@HobbiesRfun]

So this means carrots, tomatoes, and spinach are my friends, not my salad?

[@JwalinBhatt]

But as per this definition of consciousness, a simple hybird sensor which is equipped with everything we can measure so far (electric, magnetic, gravitation fields, orientation, position, luminousity, pressure,...) would be the most conscious device.

[@daisybackstar]

Hello, my name is Daisy, I am not human, I'm just a plant, I was created in a scientific laboratory. I changed my shape to live among humans as a normal girl, but in fact I am an alien plant.

[@JwalinBhatt]

@@daisybackstar Hi Daisy, I am curious to know more about you :) Why would you say you are an alien, when you were created in a lab on earth?

[@daisybackstar]

I was not created in a laboratory on Earth, I was created in a laboratory in the Galaxy M-100. I am a species originary from the planet Cloris in the star Alpha Follium - alpha star in the constellation of the Greater Leaf @@JwalinBhatt

[@JwalinBhatt]

@@daisybackstar what about your feelings? Do you feel drawn to the flora and fauna on earth? Or do you get attracted to humans?

[@daisybackstar]

I live among humans, I was adopted by a human family, but I'm looking for my origins among plants, I really want plants and humans to become friends. @@JwalinBhatt

[@cesarcdx]

no audio

[@tagitabtimanwa8898]

VOLUME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@RSEFX]

YIKES, kinda jarring sound mix-up! But very interesting talk.

[@dmwm771]

I think the definition of consciousness is also applicable for some of the artificial intelligence systems

[@wownewstome6123]

Careful with earbuds. When the Michio Kaku part plays, IT WILL BLOW OUT YOUR EARDRUMS !!! 3xs, as I recall.

[@AyoT7]

Dang Tegechi Michigachi

[@williamthegamer9899]

I love how everyone in the comment section is bitching around on this topic. We are living in a ''Game''-World, desperately trying to understand it, but we forget that our purpose is to live in peace and harmony with our surroundings and not understanding it. Everything in this world has a conciousness ... Even your own thoughts ... So be aware of it and contine on LIVING :)

[@tonk4824]

William The Gamer eh I like spending my life understanding new things but also other hobbies science is live science is life

[@danielmacoveiciuc]

„but we forget that our purpose is to live in peace and harmony with our surroundings and not understanding it.!”

[@mollyclock8238]

amazing presentation. thank you (..........m..)

[@pocahontas330]

✨🙏💖

[@daisybackstar]

Hello, my name is Daisy, I am not human, I'm just a plant, I was created in a scientific laboratory. I changed my shape to live among humans as a normal girl, but in fact I am an alien plant.

[@ryanvillanueva1841]

The audio here REALLY needs to be turned up.

[@Uthael_Kileanea]

"We don't have much time" was repeated several times. I watched this on 1.4x speed. Spent 12 minutes for a 20min video. Send a message to Stefano Mancuso: You can fit 60% more talking in that presentation and it will still not be too fast.

[@jodie672]

Has anyone seen David Attenboroughs “ The Green Planet” ? Backs up this video

[@giovaza8052]

Does anybody know the source of "99.7 of biomass is made by plants" at 2:36

[@iordanneDiogeneslucas]

If by plants, you mean use photosynthesis, im surprised it would be that low.

[@arifmhmd6253]

Someone teach him the difference between *responding* and *reacting*

[@VespertilioGiganticus]

wouldn't stop me tho

[@elenacatalinamacedonescu9663]

And the wind dindn help?

[@nmekari17]

Great now i have to move on to breatharianism

[@BioTheHuman]

We humans are just too good and kind for this universe made of death and pain 😪

[@cesarcdx]

you don't even have audio consciousness.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

Plant Inaudibility

[@naturalamerican9238]

I plant hear you.......

[@seannootherway]

I'm planting too grasp your growth

[@tariqxl]

The happening is going to happen.

[@schmecklez]

8:15 headphone users BEWARE -_-

[@boricuamom87]

Lol. It wasn't that bad.

[@lamedvav]

Seems to be erroneously including fungi as a plant? P.S. Sound is way too low, cannot hear..

[@grande6075]

i used to observed a beans or similar other plant like squash or grapes , I wonder how they were able to know where to attached their vine because you will eventually notice that after sometimes there vines is already attached to a pole nearby.