Can plants count?

It’s long been assumed that for an organism to learn, remember or draw conclusions, it needs a brain. But mounting evidence, including a recent Cognitive Science study, challenges that assumption, suggesting that neurons might not be necessary for complex information processing. The new study, authored by William & Mary Professor of Psychology Peter Vishton and his former student Paige Bartosh ’25, indicates that plants may be able to count. Well … not in the way that humans can. But it appears.