Brilliant Green: The Surprising History and Science of Plant Intelligence

‘Brilliant Green’ by Stefano Mancuso is a necessity to any plant lovers library. After reading this slim little volume we will never be able to look at plants the same. Mr. Mancuso begins his case by pointing out that ever since Aristotle our sciences have been anthropocentric, or at least animal-centric. It is only in the last few centuries that our presumed importance to creation has been questioned with the introduction of helio-centrism by Galileo and Copernicus. Mr. Mancuso seeks to bring this revolution to its full conclusion by challenging our assumptions about our evolutionary adaptability, replacing us with plants as the rightful rulers on the throne of life.Mr. Mancuso continues his analysis with a brief overview of history, demonstrating how we arrived at our false assumptions. In the past many philosophers relegated plants to the lowest rung on the ‘great chain of being,’ just a little higher than minerals. Their justification for this placement was the fact that plants could not move. Therefore, they denied that plants were endowed with the senses, perceptions, and sentience that animals have.After reviewing the arguments against plants being on an equal footing with animals, Mr. Mancuso seeks to dismantle each argument one by one. First he provides a fresh look at evolutionary history, showing how both plants and animals went on separate evolutionary paths, and how these separate evolutionary paths created their adaptations to their environment. As everyone knows, the path of plants was to obtain energy from the sun. Animals became dependent on plants for their food. Animals needed to be mobile in order to increase their ability to get food. Since plants depended on the sun they did not have that need.These separate adaptations of course effected the functions of cells in animal bodies versus plant bodies. This is part of the reason why animals have organs but plants don’t. Another important reason why plants don’t have organs is the fact that animals of course eat plants. Mr. Mancuso insists that the structure of plants is different from animals and we need to consider this in our understanding of plants. His revelation is that plants are in effect colonies of cells, much like an ant colony or a bee colony. Just like in an ant colony, the plant can continue living even if an important member of itself, for example a leaf, is cut off. His point is that organs would not be a strategic adaptation for plants, because if an animal came along and ate half the plant the plant would of course die. By dispersing the functions of animal organs throughout their system plants can successfully survive being fed on.After demonstrating how plant bodies are not comparable to animal bodies, Mr. Mancuso next tackles the senses. Again, he demonstrates that plants have all the senses that animals have plus more. Of course, to make his case he has to ‘deconstruct’ the senses. For example, he demonstrates that hearing is basically tuning into the vibration waves that sound makes. Of course, plants don’t have ears like animals do but their roots are attuned to the vibration of sound underneath the ground. Like water, the ground is an excellent sound conveyor, because the ground conveys sound vibrations beneath its surface. Plant roots attune to these vibrations and act correspondingly. Do plants have eyes? To Mr. Mancuso it is obvious that they do sense light, otherwise plants would not turn in the direction of the sun as it travels across the horizon. Mr. Mancuso continues with a fresh look at plant taste, touch and even senses that animals do not have. For instance, plants have a sense that detects gravity, and the electro-magnetic field.Next, the book turns to a discussion on symbiotic relationships between plants and animals, and hunter prey relationships. He illustrates that the Venus flytrap is not the only carnivore in the plant world. Many plants engage in carnivorous behavior. Insects and animals are excellent nitrogen carriers and plants growing in areas with poor nitrogen content in the soil kill insects in order to increase their nitrogen intake. Plants produce nectar in order to make bees and other insects dependent on them. When bees collect the nectar and then fly off to another flower of the same species they inadvertently pollinate this flower with the pollen of the previous plant. While the symbiotic relationship between insects and plants during pollination may be obvious to most of us, Mr. Mancuso makes the point that plants are the directors of this interaction, instead of being the passive witnesses that we assume them to be. He justifies his case by proving that bees will only fly to the same flower species of the flower that they first visited.Probably the most interesting revelations that Mr. Mancuso makes involve plant communication. An important component of plant communication is the fact that it is chemically based. If a plant is being attacked and feels threatened it actually gives off warning signals to its neighbors in the form of chemicals. It also uses chemicals as ‘help’ signals to insect allies, recruiting ants and mites to its defense when it is being fed on by unwanted insects. Besides using chemicals as an important communication tool, scientists now have made the shocking discovery that plant roots make clicking sounds to communicate with their plant brethren.Mr. Mancuso leaves his most significant critique of the taxonomic system used to differentiate plants from animals for last. Are plants sentient? Again, as he points out, we first need to de-construct intelligence. What do we mean by this construct? he raises the point that if intelligence ‘is problem solving’ plants demonstrate this ability through their adaptation to their environment. However, in plants where is intelligence to be found if there is not a brain organ? Mr. Mancuso hypothesizes that the hundreds of plant root tips working together are the locus of a ‘plant brain’.If Mr. Mancuso is right, his argument achieves nothing less than driving the final nail into the coffin of the mechanistic worldview inherited from Descartes. Picking up the pieces, science is now tasked with coming up with a new metaphor. Will it be something similar to the ‘life as information’ metaphor that Nancy Pearson proposes at the end of her book ‘the Soul of Science’? Or is it still too early to tell what paradigm science will use to guide its research in the future?Regardless of the speculative ventures a mind will wander off on while reading ‘Brilliant Green,’ anyone who wants a book that will challenge their worldview, this is it! Readers will come away from it with renewed respect for the unassuming creatures around them that they owe their lives to.

A well-written, well-translated, well-developed, and fascinating book. Very enjoyable to read, with helpful etymologies of Greek- and Latin-derived terms. If this subject is of any interest to you, you will probably find it as hard to stop reading as I did. Much better, in my opinion, than What A Plant Knows. Minor quibbles: The authors' view of Aristotle on plants is not what I learned or got out of reading De Anima, and it's significant that they use the Latin translation "anima" when talking about Aristotle's views, which makes me wonder whether they actually read Aristotle or just somebody's opinion of what he said. Same on the Bible. They are aware of some of the respect paid to trees and plants in the legal portions of the OT, but never once mention the Nature Psalms, in which all of Creation, including the parts we consider inanimate, like the sun, moon, and stars, as well as trees, plants, and animals, is exhorted to praise God. There is a panpsychism here which they completely miss. But these are quibbles. Overall a terrific book.

I have been a gardener for 40 years and Brilliant Green confirmed scientifically the amazing aspects of the plant kingdom that I have felt spiritually for decades. As well as taught me many things I didn't know. This isn't a how to plant a garden book. There are plenty of those. This book would be more here's the science explaining why plants grow; from their intelligent root system and all the other parts of the plant in an extremely interesting presentation. I couldn't put it down. I'll never look at trees and plants the same way again. I even read it to my Grandchildren.

I enjoyed the authors enthusiasm about plant intelligence. He gets repetitive and, for me, I wish there was more Science in it. However, what he says about cactus and yucca is glaringly wrong on several points and harms his credibility.. I can't say what else might be wrong but once I got to that, my enthusiasm for the book dropped considerably. It is still worth reading if you want an introduction to the topic but maintain some skepticism.

The intelligence of plants is known to many.The Prologue and Chapters 1 & 2 we're wasted on the berating and belittling of mankind for not lifting the intelligence of plants to the level that'll they deserve, not only in history, but modern times as well. I was somewhat offended by the incessant reminders in every chapter that most are far below the authors' level of respect for the plant kingdom and recognition that the plants of our world must be treated with dignity at all times.I did enjoy the discussions of plant's actions during their life and reactions to stimuli and expressed intelligence. I felt like this book was more of a work of sociology than one of botany. Also, the authors never seemed to consider that God created these wonderful plants for the good of man and the earth.Sorry, I can't recommend it.

Eye opening scientific argument and manifesto about realizing the true intelligence of plants. They preceded animals and humans by millions of years and they make it possible for us animals and humans to survive. This book details how plants, even though they don't have a brain and central nervous system like ours, still are aware of and proactive in their environment. They are more important to us than we have popularly imagined and they deserve more respect than we give them. Just like we are becoming aware of the higher degree of intelligence in animals, we now need to regard plant life on this planet more seriously. I recommend this book to anyone with an open mind to the possibilities of life on this planet and in the Universe.

Cost £1.99 for the Kindle edition. Fantastic value for money!This is more like a long essay than a book - it took an hour or so to read. I found it very 'light' and entertaining. There is not a lot of detail, and some matters are treated repetitively, but the style is fresh and lively and at this price I certainly did not feel 'short changed', and I was never bored. The author comes across as a very likeable person. Reading this work felt like encountering a friendly stranger on a journey and having a fascinating conversation that is destined to be remembered for years afterwards.So, what's it about? The essay does not assume any prior knowledge and explains everything in 'everyday language'. It is easy to follow the author's intentions. The author sets out to make the reader question conventional assumptions about plants, gives a brief overview of the history of (Western) ideas to show how plants have been unfairly 'pigeon-holed' and misrepresented in the past (which continues to bias contemporary attitudes), and sketches out some of the recent scientific evidence about the amazing abilities of plants to underline how foolish it is to continue to underestimate them. He does not set out a formal argument or seek to 'prove' anything. This is not an academic work. It is more like a long letter from a friendly uncle encouraging you to 'think outside the box'. Expect this essay to raise questions in your mind, not give you cut and dried answers. After this 'taster session' many readers will be eager to study further to get into the details and reach their own conclusions. Some of the questions raised are philosophical, legal, cultural and others more scientific so this essay is 'food for thought' for people from a wide range of backgrounds and students engaged in a wide range of courses (arts, humanities, sciences).Who's it for? The easy reading style makes it suitable for intelligent children aged about twelve and upwards, and adults of all abilities. I think its 'blue sky thinking' (are plants intelligent? should they have legal rights? etc) would make it an ideal gift for a teenager or others pondering which university courses to study. This would be a great 'stocking-filler' - a little gift which could help inspire the next generation of innovative thinkers.

Brilliant Green is an excellent example of cutting edge science communication. It's concise and plainly written which makes the rather daunting topic of botany accessible and interesting. For anyone who enjoys spending lots of time outside it's a real eye opener.The book doesn't delve into excessive detail - which has been criticised in one of the other reviews - but I think it's about right. It tells you enough to leave you saying 'wow, that's amazing' and wanting to find out more rather than getting bogged down.Bottom line - an easy and satisfying read that can open your eyes to the fascinating world of plant life.

We always knew there was more to plants than the bottom of the intelligence pyramid, but it takes a simply and elegantly argued book like this to prove that we been looking at the world the wrong way up. A wonderful slim read.

Fast delivery and item as described as described..outrchased as a gift

Still reading this one, and so far, enjoying it. Mancuso's work with plant intelligence will one day be seen as having revolutionized our understanding of the entire plant world and our relationship with it.