Glossary
Plant blindness
What is Plant Blindness?
Plant blindness is a term for giving plants less attention, recognition or interest than animals. It refers to a disparity in awareness, not a literal inability to see plants. Related issues include limited knowledge of plants’ ecological roles and treating plants as background scenery.
Terminology and evidence
Wandersee and Schussler introduced the term in published work in 1999. Parsley’s 2020 review proposed “plant awareness disparity,” which avoids a disability metaphor and distinguishes attention, attitude, knowledge and relative interest. Research in education and visual attention supports differences in how plants and animals are noticed, but awareness varies across cultures and experience.
Plant blindness in environmental education
Imagine noticing the bird in a garden while treating the plants around it as an unnamed green background. That illustrates the attention and knowledge gap the term describes. Plant-focused observation and teaching can address particular gaps in attention and knowledge. The review describes educational approaches and also identifies areas needing more research. Greater plant awareness does not necessarily translate into conservation behavior. Outcomes should be tested for the specific program and audience.