Phytoresonance-hypothesis: a theoretical rationale for the efficacy of plant environments for recreational effects in general and for horticultural therapy and green care

Phytoresonance is the human ability to respond to plants without words.
Paul Shepard calls phytoresonance the interaction of an internal aspect of the self with a plant.
This process can also be called representation.
People may sense psychophysiological reactions to the physical appearance of visible plants, possibly also to plants as imago or terminus.
Phytoresonance can be linked to various aspects, research approaches and applications: biophilia hypothesis, psychophysiology, neuroscience, cybernetics, biomechanics, environmental psychology, depth psychology, nature deficit syndrome, Balint group work, mindfulness practice, socialization process, and even the resonance ability of patients.
It is precisely the different perspectives that produce a significant result.
In the span of their sources, they form a matrix that is both conscious and unconscious, underlining the phytoresonance-hypothesis.

XVI International People Plant Symposium

K. Neuberger

environmental psychology, physical resonance, psychophysiology, recovery, self-awareness, well-being

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2026.1459.9