Pea plants on the move: Glimpses on perception and action in plants.

At first glance, plants seem relatively immobile, stuck to the ground in rigid structures and, unlike animals, unable to escape stressful environments. But, although markedly different from those of animals, movement pervades all aspects of plant behavior. In my talk I will address the main question of whether such movements are “goal-directed”. Are plants able to plan the course of an action ahead of time and program the tendrils’ choreography according to the features of a “to-be-grasped” object? To this end I shall present a series of studies on climbing plants’ searching and attachment behaviours. These studies have demonstrated the unique ability of plants to process different intrinsic features of a support (e.g., thickness) and to modulate their approaching and grasping behaviour accordingly. They suggest not only that they are able to perceive a potential support, but also to scale the kinematics according to its size well ahead they touch the stimulus. I contend that plants plan the movement purposefully and in ways that are flexible and anticipatory.