Perception and plant awareness: lessons from the blind botanist and polymath John Gough (1757–1825) of Kendal

This paper explores the concept of plant awareness, identifying lessons that can be learned from the experiences of John Gough, who despite his lack of vision became a successful botanist without ever seeing a plant. With assistance, he developed the capacity to identify plant species accurately, assemble an herbarium, conduct and report on detailed plant experiments and generate novel propositions relating to ecological succession and seasonal plant growth. Gough used touch, taste, smell and sound to compensate for lack of sight, describing his learning progression from total plant blindness to acute plant awareness. His experience suggests that senses other than sight can play a significant part in stimulating interest in plants. A single non-visual stimulus elicited an insatiable desire to learn and a lifetime interest in botany. Gough’s experiences are discussed in the context of modern ideas about multisensory perception and brain function, and how they might inform our approach to tackling plant blindness through education.