Nature's wonders: intelligent flowers? (Introduction)

by dhw, Friday, May 23, 2025, 14:09 (10 hours, 40 minutes ago) @ dhw

An article in yesterday’s Times: Flowers turn sweet at the sound of bees

QUOTES: “Scientists have discovered that snapdragon plants can “hear” the buzz of preferred pollinators and respond by boosting the sugar content of their nectar. They also seem able to tell friend from foe. When the plants were exposed to the sounds of “freeloader” insects that planned to sip their nectar without providing pollinating services, they withheld the sugary reward!”

“Professor Francesca Barbero of the University of Turin […] said she had been “astonished” to find evidence that plants were […] tailoring their hospitality accordingly. “It means they sense, discriminate and react to the sounds of different insects.”

Like every other life form, plants are composed of cells/cell communities. Yet more evidence, then, that cells possess different levels of autonomous intelligence? Presumably this talent is not universal among flowers – so one up for the snapdragon?