Plants have evolved to become extremely sophisticated organisms. Animals rely on their ability to move to look for food, run away from danger, and find new resources. Plants, instead, are stationary and have had to adapt in order to produce their own nutrients, efficiently taking advantage of the resources at their disposal, and interacting with their environment.

Proof that plants have excelled at adapting to their surroundings is that of all the lifeforms on earth, they are the most numerous and the longest-living. They boast an infinite number of records, and they are remarkably sensitive: plants react and record fifteen different chemical and physical parameters (our meager five senses pale in comparison), most of which are perceived through their roots. Plants are extraordinarily adaptable: they are able to survive in extreme environments by economising energy and resources. To survive, they even signal dangers to one another. They also establish synergetic and cooperative relationships not only amongst themselves but to other living beings as well. One example of this is how they reproduce: some plants produce sophisticatedly-shaped seeds to facilitate their distribution, others have evolved to depend on insects or small animals who are attracted to sugars and other volatile substances contained in flowers, so that they, subsequently, spread the flowers’ pollen.

The Boquilla Trifolata is a plant found in Chilean and Argentinian forests. It is a climbing plant, a liana, which grows by rooting itself to the trunks of the plants whereon it climbs. It is able to imitate its hosts, sometimes adopting more than one shape at a time. If necessary, a single Boquilla plant can vary the appearance of its leaves multiple times, its goal is to mimic its host species as closely as possible. The Boquilla leaf may be tapered, pointed, or rounded, sometimes even spiked or ridged. It can vary in shape, size, proportion, color, orientation, and texture.

The ability to camouflage its leaves is an extraordinary defense strategy. By modifying its leaves, the Boquilla can disguise itself, becoming unrecognisable to its predators.

So what’s its secret?

The answer is as simple as it is surprising: plants are able to perceive images, thanks to their plant-specific ocelli. The ocelli are a sort of ‘lens’ located in the leaves’ epidermis. They are able to communicate images relating to shape and colour, and they convey these images together with nutrients from the sun’s rays.

The fruit of the Erodium, through its structure, makes a great deal of mechanical energy available to its seeds, with a sort of spring mechanism. When the flowers are mature, or when external factors (animals, insects, or a gust of wind) intervene, the seeds are freed in a mini-explosion that can carry them meters away. But wait, there’s more! Once the seeds have landed on the ground and have adjusted to their new environments according to the air’s humidity, they begin a brilliant process of auto-planting, taking advantage of their pointed shape, brushes, and a long, curled appendix — a kind of tail that is able to curl itself into a spiral. First, the seed uses its brushes to position itself vertically, with its head down. When it is stable, the curly tail begins modifying its shape according to the change in humidity. This generates a spiral movement which pushes the seed downward into the earth. In just a few days, the seed has reached its ideal position underground, a few centimeters below the surface, and it is ready to germinate.

Plants are able to recognise and remember dangerous stimuli. They record information and behave accordingly.

The Mimosa Pudica is a fascinating little plant which closes its leaves when it feels threatened: just a slight touch is enough to provoke this protective reaction. If, however, it is subjected to the same stimulus more than once, without being damaged or hurt, the Mimosa Pudica will stop reacting defensively. It recognises that the contact poses no threat, and thus has no need to activate its defensive mechanisms.  This is fascinating in and of itself, but that’s not all. If the mimosa pudica is exposed to the very same stimulus a month later, the repetition of the stimulus continues to be perceived as non-threatening and the leaves remain open! This is an astounding result which shows that the Mimosa Pudica not only registers information, it is able to remember it as well.