I was listening to the radio the other day and there was a discussion about plant blindness. I have hunted for the reference for which programme it was and why but have failed to find the specific one, it was on Radio 4 (no surprise). I did however find quite a bit of information on the subject that I think is both fascinating and extremely worrying.
The term 'plant blindness' was coined by Elisabeth Schussler and James Wandersee in 1998 when they started writing about the impact of plant blindness. Plant blindness is not something I think I suffer from. Obviously in my garden my focus is very much on the plants. When out walking I know I am noticing all the plants, even the ones in the cracks in the pavements and walls as I walk by. When watching television I am looking sometimes more at the background gardens then at the action I am meant to be watching. I know I am not alone in this, it is something many plant/garden lovers do. I think we also know that many people do not do this. They seem to hardly see plants at all and invariably have huge feet that crush our beloved plants as they walk over them. Yes they might be able to point at a rose and say 'rose', but pointing out other plants often meets a bemused glazed look (or is this just me boring my friends and family?) This matters because if people do not understand/value what they are losing they will not notice when it is lost. It is hard to convince people that plants matter if they cannot see them.
Plant Blindness, however, is a step more than just not understanding about plants; it is not even seeing plants. This is not about wanton destruction, it is worse. If you cannot see things then you will not even know you have destroyed them. Most people understand that animals matter but we seem to be lagging behind on ensuring the safety of the plants of our world.
