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Rupert Sheldrake’s “The Polarity of Plants” (from his Findings series, July 9) explores the fundamental question: what determines the upward and downward orientation—i.e., polarity—of plant growth? This summary breaks down his main ideas and findings.
🌱 Core Idea: Plant Polarity
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Plants grow with a distinct polarity:
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Roots grow downwards, prefer darkness.
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Shoots grow upwards, prefer light.
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Despite their different forms and directions, they function as interdependent poles—like a magnet—part of a larger unified system.
🔬 Early Hypothesis: Cell Wall Age
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In the 1970s, Sheldrake hypothesized that polarity might be determined by the relative age of cell walls:
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In growing shoots, the older wall is at the bottom of dividing cells.
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In grasses (monocots), older walls are on top, yet polarity remains the same.
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This was tested by studying the hormone auxin—which flows in a polar direction and regulates growth.
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Conclusion: Polarity is not determined by the age or position of cell walls.
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🌿 Key Evidence Across Plant Types
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In woody plants (tobacco, tomato, oak), stems grow thicker through lateral cell division, yet still maintain normal auxin polarity—from shoot tip toward root.
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Inverted growth: Even when plants are turned upside-down, their internal polarity does not reverse.
🧬 Cellular-Level Insight
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Fern spores—a minimal system of single-file cells—were used to study polarity:
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Sheldrake found polarity correlated with how the cell membrane attaches to the cell wall at different ends.
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This mechanism helped clarify how auxin transport remains directional, despite the orientation of the plant.
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⚡ Electrical Aspects of Polarity
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Electrical factors may play a role in establishing or maintaining polarity.
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Sheldrake performed simple experiments using an electrostatic spray gun to explore these effects.
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While results are preliminary, they suggest that bioelectric fields could influence growth direction.
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🧭 Overall Conclusion
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Polarity in plants is intrinsic, established early in development, and not dependent on environmental orientation or cell wall history.
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It likely arises from a combination of structural, biochemical, and electrical cues, not yet fully understood.
Would you like a breakdown of his auxin transport findings, or how this fits into his broader theory of morphic resonance?
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