Colin McEnroe Show: Mr. Smarty Plants

The idea that plants are pretty much inert seems to prevail everywhere but in science fiction -- and sci fi comedy -- where Triffids and Killer Tomatoes and Audrey II and Pod People are just the tip of the iceberg lettuce.

A few years ago "The Happening" laid an eggplant at the box office, but we shouldn't forget its fundamental premise: that all the plants on earth sort of turned against us and decided to put Earth on kind of a detox program, purging itself of most of those nasty humans collecting in its spleen.

This is not to say that plants are malevolent. Just that you couldn't blame them if they were ...

But real science seems to be catching up with the question. If plants can develop a taste for meat, send each other signals and respond to their environments, don't they at least have something like a central nervous system? Could they be self aware? Self-interested? Maybe they do hate us.

You can join the conversation. Do you think plants are smart? Self-interested? Do you talk to your plants? Leave your comments below, e-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us@wnprcolin.

** This episode originally broadcast March 16, 2010. **