03/18/2026
Fascinating experiments suggest that plants might be far more alive, aware, and even emotionally responsive than weāve imagined. Cleve Backster, a former CIA interrogation specialist, began testing this idea using polygraph machines. To his surprise, the plants seemed to react to human thoughts and emotions. In one instance, when he merely imagined setting a dracaena plant on fire, the polygraph spiked dramatically, showing what looked like a stress response. This led Backster to believe that plants could sense intention, famously concluding, Plants can think!
He went on to test lettuces, bananas, and other plants, finding similar responses to human emotions and actions - even from afar.
In one experiment, a plant that had āwitnessedā another being destroyed appeared to identify the ākillerā from a group of people. Some even reacted when eggs were cracked or shrimp boiled nearby, suggesting empathy across species. Though his studies, published in the International Journal of Parapsychology, remain controversial, they continue to intrigue those exploring plant consciousness.
Decades later, biologist Monica Gagliano of the University of Western Australia expanded on these ideas. In her famous experiment, Mimosa pudica plants repeatedly dropped from a small height initially curled their leaves - a natural defense response. But after realizing the drops caused no harm, the plants stopped reacting. Even a month later, they ārememberedā the experience, suggesting they could learn and retain information without a brain.
Together, these studies challenge one of scienceās deepest assumptions - that intelligence and consciousness require neurons. If plants can perceive, learn, and remember, what exactly defines awareness? These discoveries invite us to look at life differently, recognizing that consciousness might not be something humans have*, but something life itself is. This would mean we'd have to adopt a new worldview as well.