The Plant Intelligence Show, with Simon Gilroy

Are plants more aware than we think? Do they have feelings? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary O’Reilly, and Harrison Greenbaum explore the intelligence of plants with astrobotanist Simon Gilroy. From venus flytraps to space farming, we dig deep into the secret world of plants.

We start by looking at plant awareness—do plants know they’re being eaten? Can they predict where the sun is going to be in the morning? How do plants communicate internally without a central nervous system or a brain? Simon explains how plants communicate through chemistry, using glutamate signals, and how psychoactive molecules help defend the plant from predators.

We explore one of nature’s weirdest plants: the Venus flytrap. Can it count? How does it actually move? And can plants form memories? We explore how plants “learn” from past experiences as well as the dark side to the smell of freshly mowed grass. If a plant survives a harsh winter, how does it know when it’s safe to grow again? Plus, we ask: do plants know when they're in space?

How do plants react in microgravity? Can they tell which way is up without gravity to guide them? What happens when you try to grow plants in lunar soil—can they survive without the nutrients they depend on here on Earth? And if Martian soil is toxic, could astronauts really fertilize their crops using composted waste? How close are we to turning science fiction into reality?
Finally, could we engineer tastier space food? Would tomatoes grown in orbit taste the same as those on Earth? What about spicy peppers—does space change their flavor? We discuss what foods should be targeted for space farming and what farming on another planet would look like. What if the light around another star is in a different spectrum? Join us as we explore the fascinating frontier of astrobotany and the hidden intelligence of the plants around us!

Thanks to our Patrons Charlie Delavida, Muhammad Sarfraz, Nirmal, Joseph Longoz, TerrasMom, Skyman's Follies, Que Raetid, Dustin A Brinkman, Kevan P, Adam Randell, Deo, Roman Marakhoskyi, Ron, Raveneffect32, Robin Campbell, Corey Burke, Johnny G, Carl, Julia Linde, malik_m, Jim Mauck, Helen Johnson, Dawn Keebals, Nathan Campbell, Raunak Sethiya, Adam Holland, AT, Mary Zoellner, Jason Sykes, Dan The Man, Christopher Thompson, Brett Gillingham, Neil Moore, Jim Myhrberg, Jordan Blackler, strigiformes, John Rondo, shane eagles, Berbnote, B231, Easly_Bash, $H!Ft3Y, shannon hintze, Tre Ski, Andrew Nisker, Shree Sharma, Adam Z, Joseph Cutler, Charles Jarboe, and Dmitriy Sinyakin for supporting us this week.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction: Simon Gilroy
04:19 - How Aware Are Plants?
10:39 - Using the Language of Human Experience
11:49 - Plants Don’t Have Brains
16:34 - What’s Up With Venus Fly Traps?
20:00 - Can Plants Remember?
23:39 - How Do Plants Communicate?
28:37 - Do Plants Know They’re in Space?
34:12 - Space Farming
36:16 - Growing in Microgravity & In Regolith
42:28 - GMOs for Space
53:14 - Closing Thoughts

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Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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[StarTalk]

If you were able to communicate with plants, what do you think your backyard would tell you?

[DeathadderOne]

this is one of those videos that's over before you realize that you've been watching for 55 min. love those ones

[Yakito]

Hey guys. I just wanted to say how much I am grateful for letting the speaker talk uninterrupted. It's such a different experience for me.

Thank you, thank you.

[davidt-om]

Thank you Gary, You choose very good Topics and Guest Experts. I have appreciated what you bring and add to all topics, .

[SamuriNinja]

So cool to see my old professor on this show! Fond memories learning about plants from Simon at UW-Madison.

[oldcrow]

This was such a great episode! No one could be more excited about the plants. 😊 Thanks for having Prof. Gilroy on the show.

[longlowdog]

So many questions from Gary o' that got part formed and sped over. I'd listen to him questioning Simon for hours. His attention to the answers we got and his prior information that brought forth the questions was on point.

[markneves]

23:49 it's so wonderful to hear scientists talk. Especially good ones. "There's much less evidence" it might be subtle to the general public, but that very distinctly different from saying it's not a thing. He says as far as we know we don't see that that exists and leaves room for the possibility evidence is found later.

[RuddyBurns]

This was definitely the best episode of Star Talk so far! So informative and interesting with both real facts about plants and intriguing ideas towards the possible! Thank you Star talk participants for all your hard work!

[philliptoroian]

Prof Gilroy was the comedian!
Using the comedy to tell science story..
His topic resonated with my career as a Botanical Artist.
It helped to know th " Soul" of the medium for composition and sense the language.
A hands on Cosmic exercise!

[xanderveldmuisje]

Great guest. 5 minutes in and already love him

[EK-xzig]

Botany gets cooler the more you learn about it

[RoninGiru]

I love Dr. Gilroy so much. He’s been such an inspirational figure in my PhD. A fellow astrobotanist and a Wizard!

[SuperiorDave]

I'm so grateful for these science videos on YouTube. Thumbs up a billion billion times.

[jjjames]

Can’t say enough for the positivity of this channel, I learn tons & plenty of laughs every time, thanks guys ❤

[Richard-ugel]

Gilroy is awesome. He's got so much interesting stuff to say. I learned so much from him. I hope you have him on again.

[duncanwallace]

What a great guest! So interesting and practical at the same time.

[paintingstories]

So nice to hear the guest finish his thoughts uninterrupted!

[fadikobrossi]

Amazing. Best wishes from Lebanon to Dr Neil and all hs guests

[lungflogger]

Simon has amazed me with his very interesting, well articulated vast knowledge about plant communication, a topic I thought I was going to immediately click off after a minute instead was captivated and enjoyed learning from him for the entire program. Thank you!