The Mind of Plants: Narratives of Vegetal Intelligence

by John C. Ryan (Editor), Patrícia Vieria (Editor), Monica Gagliano (Editor)

Explorations of plant consciousness and human interactions with the natural world.
From apples to ayahuasca, coffee to kurrajong, passionflower to peyote, plants are conscious beings. How they interact with each other, with  humanity and with the world at large has long been studied by researchers, scientists and spiritual teachers and seekers. The Mind of Narratives of Vegetal Intelligence brings together works from all these disciplines and more in a collection of essays that highlights what we know and what we intuit about botanical life.
The Mind of Plants, featuring a foreword by Dennis McKenna, is a collection of short essays, narratives and poetry on plants and their interaction with humans. Contributors include Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of the New York Times’ best seller Braiding Sweetgrass,  Jeremy Narby, John Kinsella, Luis Eduardo Luna, Megan Kaminski and dozens more. The book’s editors, John C. Ryan, Patrícia Vieira and Monica Gagliano – each of whom also contributed works to the collection – weave together essays, personal reflections and poems paired with intricate illustrations by José María Pout.
Recent scientific research in the field of plant cognition highlights the capacity of botanical life to discern between options and learn from prior experiences or, in other words, to think. The Mind of Plants includes texts that interpret this concept broadly. As Mckenna writes in his foreword, “What the reader will find here, expressed in poetry and prose, are stories that are infused with cherished memories and inspired celebrations of unique relationships with a group of organisms that are alien and unlike us in every way, yet touch human lives in myriad ways.”

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Plants, Ecology

511 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 16, 2021

About the author

This is the disambiguation profile for otherwise unseparated authors publishing as John C. Ryan

See also:
John C. Ryan = Romance, Historical Fiction
John C. Ryan = Fiction, Biographical Fiction, WWII

Reviews

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is usual for anthologies, this was uneven. Some essays were technical, some leaned into storytelling and personal experience. I was unmoved by the poetry interludes, but I'm a difficult audience. A few essays were irritating. A few were enthralling. Your personal relationship to each plant and the writer's culture will influence how you are affected by each essay. Overall, it's worth the read.

[Theresa Jump · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of essays and artwork from a wide-variety of plant lovers.

There's an accompanying website with video of the authors speaking about their beloved plant. Clever!

[greeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished listening to the audiobook and will now - as soon as I'm done writing this review - buy the paperback and re-read most, if not all, of the chapters. With the authors of this book, I found my people. With each chapter, I found validation of my own perceptions of plants. By the end, I found direction. One of my strongest takeaways from this book is that opening up to plant intelligence and reconnecting with plant wisdom and teachings is the first step in decolonizing minds and living appropriately within the web of life.

I give this book all the stars.

[Jessi Madrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this book, which was frustrating because working with plants is my job. I wasn't actually able to finish this book. I will try reading this book again in the near future, in hopes that I can read the book in its entirety this time.

This book was recieved as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Layne · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the book, there is the line: “Poor is poetry in science today, devoid of imagination”. The contributors certainly challenge that idea by delivering new perspectives on the magnificent world of plants. This book fueled my child-like curiosity and made me walk around with eyes wide open.

[EmberMantles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of the entries felt like they weren't really about the mind of plants, just a more general "this is how I've experienced this plant". I didn't dislike those essays, they just felt like they weren't really within the theme of the collection.

I did skip the essay on coffee when the author described how they refused an mri because "these researchers are only looking at coffee-deprived brains". The framing felt like they were saying that anybody who doesn't drink coffee is coffee-deprived, which felt a little ridiculous in context of the author's admission to drinking 6 cups every day.

[Charissa Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book really thought-provoking and insightful. Each person brings something different, just like each plant. Even if you just read a few of the essays on the plants you care about, it is worth the time.