Do plants communicate telepathically [1] with the world surrounding them? Do they collaborate with nature using telekinesis to control people and animals and objects? These questions surfaced last week as I read about sage plants, which blossom at incalculably irregularly times—yet when they do, every nearby sage blossoms in unison. The question was posed: Is it plant telepathy? [2]

The immediate reply: “No.” Yet the debunker continues, almost excitedly, citing the classic, bestselling book on the topic, The Secret Life Of Plants [3] which is also a documentary film [4] with a soundtrack by Stevie Wonder [5]! (Looks like an amazing read. Has anybody read it?) I found another debunker [6], who obviously still loves the idea. And Cecil Adams weighs in with some straight dope [7].

Nonetheless, this concept’s appeal continues to excite. Writer Michael Pollan [8] (NPR audio [9]) continues this theme in his gripping, genre-bending bestseller, The Botany Of Desire [10]. But he’s much too agile to pigeonhole the plant-human communication as telepathy. And there’s a beautiful, ongoing stream of images at Flickr, The Secret Life of Plants [11].