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. Much like how humans smell food, plants too have chemical receptors that bind to very specific gaseous chemical compounds. 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 a number of languages.[7]

Summary of What a Plant Knows Editions
LanguagePublisherPublication yearnotes
English (USA)Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux20122nd edition 2017
English (UK)One World20122nd edition 2017
English (Australia)Scribe20122nd edition 2017
JapaneseKawade Shobo Shinsha2012
Chinese (simplified)Beijing Mediatime Books 20122nd edition, 2018
HebrewMatar20132nd edition, 2023
Chinese (complex)Rye Field2012
German Was Pflanzen wissen: wie sie sehen, riechen und sich erinnernHanser20122nd edition, 2017
KoreanDarun20132nd edition 2019
CroatianPlanetopija2013
Estonian Mida Taim TeabAripaev2012
Polish Zmysłowe życie roślin: podreczny atlas zmysłówWAB2013
Italian Quel che una pianta sa: guida ai sensi nel mondo vegetaleCortina2013
French La Plante et ses sensBuchet Chastel20132nd edition 2018
RussianCentrepolygraph 2017
SerbianCenter for the Promotion of Science2017
SlovanianARA Zalozba2018
CzechAcademia2020
TurkishMetis2018
HungarianPark Konyvkiado Kft2018
SpanishAriel2019

References
  1. Chamovitz, Daniel (30 April 2013). What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses. ISBN 978-0374533885.
  2. Chamovitz, Daniel (2017). What a plant knows : a field guide to the senses (First revised paperback ed.). ISBN 9780374537128.
  3. Graham Jr., Frank (24 July 2012). "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, Straus, Giroux. ISBN 9780374537128.
  7. "What A Plant Knows". www.whataplantknows.com. Retrieved 15 October 2019.


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