What a Plant Knows

What a Plant Knows is a popular science book by Daniel Chamovitz, originally published in 2012, discussing the sensory system of plants.[1] A revised edition was published in 2017.[2]

Judiciously manipulating similes with dashes of anthropomorphism, Chamovitz introduces each of the vital human senses (all except taste) and explains its meaning for humans as contrasted with its function in plants. There are no noses or eyes as such in the plant world, but there are organs and responses that mimic our physiology. The author recounts how willows, attacked by caterpillars, send airborne pheromones to neighboring willows. Warned by these gaseous signals (or “smells”) of a nearby infestation, the neighbors begin manufacturing increased levels of toxic chemicals to render their leaves unpalatable to the caterpillars.[3]

What a Plant Knows:
A Field Guide to the Senses
AuthorDaniel Chamovitz
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience book, Popular science
PublisherScientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux (U.S.A)
Publication date
May 22, 2012 (U.S.A)
Pages177 (Paperback edition: April 30, 2013); 201(Revised edition: Nov 21, 2017);

Release details / Editions / Publication

Hardcover edition, 2012[4]
Paperback version, 2013[5]
Revised edition, 2017[6]

What a Plant Knows has been translated and published in Japanese, Chinese (simple), Chinese (complex), Serbian, Hebrew, Korean, German, Croatian, Slovanian, Polish, Estonian, Italian, Russian, Hungarian, French, Czech, Turkish and Spanish[7]

gollark: So it suspends most programs properly, at least.
gollark: Yes, and I bodged `sleep` to work with that.
gollark: And is standalon.
gollark: This one is *slightly* fancy, in that it allows suspending processes.
gollark: It's a TLCO + process managery thing. I am fairly sure such things already exist.

References
  1. What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses. ISBN 0374533881.
  2. Chamovitz, Daniel (2017). What a plant knows : a field guide to the senses (First revised paperback ed.). ISBN 9780374537128.
  3. Graham Jr., Frank. "Review: What a Plant Knows". Audubon Magazine, July–August 2012.
  4. Chamovitz, Daniel (2012). What a plant knows : a field guide to the senses (1st Hardcover ed.). Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374288730.
  5. Chamovitz, Daniel (2012). What a plant knows : a field guide to the senses (1st Paperback ed.). Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374533885.
  6. Chamovitz, Daniel (2017). What a plant knows : a field guide to the senses (First revised paperback ed.). Scientific American / Farrar, Strauss, Giroux. ISBN 9780374537128.
  7. "What A Plant Knows". www.whataplantknows.com. Retrieved 15 October 2019.


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