🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <CD5oH9.1vK@gpu.utcc.utoronto.ca> bae@gpu.utcc.utoronto.ca (Beverly Erlebacher) writes:
>In article <26qekf$oeq@scunix2.harvard.edu>,
>Michael Levin <mlevin@husc8.harvard.edu> wrote:
>>
>>     Does anyone know anything about, or have any references to papers
>>on, memory in plants? I observed an interesting phenomenon recently,
>>and started wondering if this sort of thing has been looked at at all.
>>Here's what I saw. I recently planted a piece of a wild berry bush in
>>my back yard. It is a thorny black-berry like plant. It kept trying to
>>climb the fence and penetrate into my neighbor's back yard. Every few
>>days or so, I'd go out back and take the branches that got through the
>>fence and pull them out, back to my side. This went on for several
>>weeks. All of a sudden, I noticed that it "changed its strategy".
>>Instead of trying for the fence, all of the branches that were
>>attempting to get over there, started growing downwards, and stuck
>>themselves into the soil, and (as I found out when I pulled one up),
>>put out roots. This was a really drastic change from before. So, I
>>began to wonder if the lack of success it was having was what really
>>caused this to happen. So, how about it - has anyone heard of plants
>>changing their growth patterns based on repeated feedback?
>>Please email to mlevin@husc8.harvard.edu.
>>
>>Mike Levin
>
>Ummm, this is normal behaviour for many blackberries.  The branches
>get long and droop to the ground and "tip layer" themselves.  This
>is one reason wild blackberry thickets so closely resemble barbed wire
>entanglements (and spread out so readily).
>
>If you go back to where you got the wild plant, you may find that its
>clones and relatives are engaging in the same behaviour without benefit
>of human intervention.  You can read about this sort of thing in gardening
>books that describe the different ways of pruning and training berry vines.
>
>As far as "plants changing their growth patterns based on repeated
>feedback", you may notice that your average weed growing in your
>average lawn will put out shorter flower stalks the more it is mowed.
>I wouldn't regard this as "memory".
>
>Beverly Erlebacher
>Toronto, Ontario Canada
>
>Disclaimer:  I'm a systems hack, not a botanist.



	I don't know what you call it, but creepers "look" for the nearest support
	point. It is amazing to turn the pot around and see the creeper in a few
	days to start bending its twigs in the direction of a support point that
	it cannot even touch. Anybody venture to explain ? -Alberto-