Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: kdlynn on 10/06/2007 04:39:35

Title: do plants sleep?
Post by: kdlynn on 10/06/2007 04:39:35

all animals sleep... but what about plants?

Title: do plants sleep?
Post by: Karen W. on 10/06/2007 05:07:36

Pond lillies close up at night as do other flowers so I believe they do.. at least some of them in a manner of speakjing.

Title: do plants sleep?
Post by: Bored chemist on 10/06/2007 13:51:06

It depends on your definition of sleep. For people it's certainly a state of being unconscious. That would mean that plants are asleep all the time.

Title: do plants sleep?
Post by: dentstudent on 10/06/2007 16:15:38

It would also mean that plants are "awake" - as they have no CNS I don't think that any sort of sentience can be credited, and perhaps "dormant" might be a better word.

Title: do plants sleep?
Post by: ukmicky on 10/06/2007 17:22:58

Plants lay dormant during certain times of the year so in some respects yes you could say they sleep.

Title: do plants sleep?
Post by: kdlynn on 10/06/2007 17:37:03

thanks everyone

Title: do plants sleep?
Post by: Karen W. on 10/06/2007 17:47:21

Yes it was a good question Kadie!

Title: do plants sleep?
Post by: dentstudent on 11/06/2007 08:09:54

I would in general agree with ukmicky, but it really depends on the semantics of "sleep". This often occurs in the use of words that describe a human condition when they are applied to a non-human form - an anthropomorphism. Under no circumstances can a plant be said to go from an "awake" state to an "asleep" state - (I'm picturing a snoring forest) - but in the absence of any other common word to describe either the diurnal transition or the winter "hibernation" (in a temporate zone), then sleep is as good a word as any. BUT - it is definately not sleep in the way that we experience it.