There is a new plant species just discovered in the rainforest of Argentina, called Boquila Trifoliolata. It is the Most Mysterious Plant in the World. It seems to have consciousness and can see the plants next to it and then mimic their leaves as it grows new leaves!
I discovered this plant at the University of Washington Village Garden store when I was at their exotic plant table. The sign on this sweet little plant said, "Most Mysterious Plant in the World"
Of course, I bought it, and I have been watching it grow next to my favorite plant as it mimics the shape of its leaves.
A more recent study suggests that the vine might use a primitive form of vision.
What is perhaps most startling about B. trifoliolata, however, is that it does not require physical contact with a nearby plant to mimic its leaves. The plant can somehow sense its neighbor across an air gap and replicate its features. No known mechanism adequately explains how B. trifoliolata can achieve this mimicry without contact. However, the primary hypotheses is the plant has a primitive eye or ocelli.
B. trifoliolata Plant Study: The new study, led by Felipe Yamashita, a doctoral student at the University of Bonn, explores the unique ability of B. trifoliolata (three-leaf silverleaf) plants to mimic the shape of nearby plants in their new leaf growth. This phenomenon goes beyond simple phototropism or geotropism and suggests that these plants use lens-like cells in their leaves, or “ocelli,” to detect the shape and other attributes of neighboring plants (Yamashita et al., 2021).
Plant neurobiology is an emerging field that posits plants have a form of consciousness and self-awareness. Some researchers, including Yamashita’s academic adviser Frantisek Baluska, propose that plants possess bundles of neuron-like cells in their roots functioning as a “brain-like command center” (Baluska et al., 2013). It is believed that these structures could process visual information for the plant.
The study on B. trifoliolata provides evidence for this hypothesis by demonstrating that these plants can perceive and respond to the shapes of surrounding objects. The researchers observed that when grown in close proximity to other plants with distinct shapes, such as triangular or circular leaves, B. trifoliolata produced new leaves with similar shapes (Yamashita et al., 2021).
To understand how this process occurs, the researchers conducted a series of experiments using computer simulations and microscopic observations. They found that the lens-like cells in B. trifoliolata leaves act like tiny cameras, capturing images of nearby objects and transmitting this information to the plant’s root system (Yamashita et al., 2021). The root system then processes this data and sends signals to initiate new leaf growth with corresponding shapes.
This groundbreaking research sheds light on the complex sensory capabilities of plants and challenges our understanding of their role in ecosystems. It also opens up new avenues for research into plant intelligence and communication systems (Yamashita et al., 2021).
Authoritative References Used: Baluska F., Mancuso S., Komarova A., Wagener T., Schönknecht R., Volkmann D., & Wobus H.-J. (2013). Plant perception: From stimuli to responses – A new perspective on plant behavior based on cellular slime molds Physiology Plantarum, 145(3), 449–468. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.12075
Yamashita F., Baluska F., & Wobus H.-J. (2021). Plants Perceive Shapes: A New Perspective on Plant Neurobiology Current Biology, 31(7), R368–R369 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.057
