Even though plants do not have nerves, they know when they are being touched and when the touching stops. Researchers at Washington State University conducted experiments and found that increase or decrease of pressure on internal cells in plants recognize touch. It also seems that any of the cells in plants react to touch not just certain ones. In past research, it was noted that when a caterpillar bites a plant leaf, the plant can respond with a defensive mechanism that repels the caterpillar. Also, brushing a plant triggers calcium waves that activate different genes. Scientists want to conduct further studies to understand plant sensitivity.

Journal Reference:

1. Alexander H. Howell, Carsten Völkner, Patrick McGreevy, Kaare H. Jensen, Rainer Waadt, Simon Gilroy, Hans-Henning Kunz, Winfried S. Peters, Michael Knoblauch. Pavement cells distinguish touch from letting go. Nature Plants, 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s41477-023-01418-9

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Washington State University. “Plants can distinguish when touch starts and stops, study suggests.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 31 May 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230531101953.htm>.