Paco Calvo has authored many papers in respected journals; his view is another instance of panpsychism overtaking materialism in science:
We are now told in science publications that bees feel and think and that spiders dream. As science edges slowly toward panpsychism (all life forms participate in consciousness), we even learn — in science journals — that viruses are intelligent and cells are cognitive.
So who would now be surprised by the race to demonstrate that plants are conscious? University of Murcia researcher Paco Calvo, described at ResearchGate as a “a leading figure in the philosophy of plant behavior and signalling” has developed, with colleagues, what he argues is a test of consciousness for plants: …
They think they have discovered what they are looking for in climbing bean plants: …
News, “Yes, plants may be conscious too, says researcher” at Mind Matters News (August 29, 2022)
Takehome: It’s not so much that consciousness in plants is being demonstrated as that what it means to be conscious is changing so as to include plants.
You may also wish to read:
What does it mean to say bees “feel and think”? The New Scientist reviewer is unsure that we are ready for such a radical message. Unsure? At one time, it would have been “not science!” In The Mind of a Bee, behavioral ecologist Lars Chittka makes a claim that shows that science is slowly embracing panpsychism as a successor to materialism.
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Scientists: Plants are notconscious! No, but why do serious plant scientists even need to make that clear? What has happened? Quite simply, the need to see humans as equivalent to animals has now spread to the need to see us as equivalent to plants.