Reframing Botanical Blindness and Imperception Through Evolutionary Lenses

• Published in: Acta Botânica Brasílica Vol. 39
• Main Authors: Ulysses Paulino Albuquerque, Aníbal Silva Cantalice, Edwine Soares Oliveira, Francisco Igor Ribeiro Santos, Hermeson Carlos Santos, Ingrid da Silva Lima, João Victor Mendes Silva, Letícia Elias, Marcela Maria Albuquerque-Silva, Maria Vittória Alves de Santana, Paula Thayanne Mata, Rayane Karoline Silva dos Santos, Valdir de Moura Brito Júnior, Yasmim Antonino Costa Santos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Botânica do Brasil 01.01.2025
• Subjects: Animacy; cognitive bias; differential attention; ethnobiology; ethnobotany; naturalistic mind; plant awareness disparity
• ISSN: 1677-941X
• DOI: 10.1590/1677-941x-abb-2024-0236

Abstract In this opinion article, we question the tendency to treat human interactions with plants as a cognitive deficit through terms such as botanical blindness, botanical imperception, or plant awareness disparity (PAD). Rather than denying the existence of the phenomenon these terms attempt to describe, we argue that it should be interpreted as part of a broader and naturally evolved process of differential attention. We contend that naming this perceptual tendency as a distinct and pathological entity disregards the evolutionary basis of human cognition and perception. Cultural and contextual factors modulate interaction with plants, and less attention is paid to them in modern environments, reflecting sociocultural influences rather than cognitive flaws. We advocate for educational approaches that embrace human perceptual plasticity, promoting reconnection with plant diversity without invoking notions of dysfunction.