The Sense Books Forgot

Plant identification books use one sense to identify a plant: vision. Yet sight is also one of the easiest ways to confuse a plant. You need to engage your other senses.

What’s the scent of the plant? What’s the texture of the plant? Does the plant have a specific sound when you crush it? What’s the weight of the leaf? Is it feather-light or somewhere else on that spectrum?

Together this makes identification reliable in a way that visual pattern matching alone cannot.

This multi-sensory approach dramatically reduces the margin of error and, more importantly, you’re meeting the plant with your body.

This deepens your relationship with the plant into something that’s embodied and personal rather than merely conceptual.

Today ask yourself: what would it take to know plants so well that you could find it in the dusk.

Most of my work goes to newsletter subscribers only. When you know some plants, Domei comes next.

A simple, quiet practice built around giving one plant your full attention without an app or a cushion or the need for a belief system. Some call it 'zen in work boots'.

If you seek a deeper relationship with plants, and a desire for kinship with the living world, sign up today. Arrives in your inbox every Thursday at 8am.

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