The link above is a PBS documentary on the topic titled "what plants talk about"
One example showed plants roots, the roots would rapidly grow when there were little nutrients in the soil until they hit a patch of nutrient rich soil, where they would then slow down, absorb as much as they could, then they moved on...
This behavior is near identical to foraging animals, when there is little to eat, they move on, when they find food, they slow to consume it, hanging around the food patches, and moving when there is little food...
So they are aware of the soil composition around them, they are "conscious" of their surroundings in this aspect.
Another example from this film was centered on wild tobacco. When hawk moth caterpillars are feeding on it, the wild tobacco recognizes that it's being eaten by hawk moth caterpillars, so it offers them a trichome, which they think is a tasty treat and consume, however after consumption of this trichome the caterpillar will emit a smell, attracting its predictors to come and eat it. So the plant recognizes who is eating it, and responds with chemicals specific to that organism.
The hawk moth is the wild tobacco plants pollinator, however if the hawk moth caterpillars become too much of an issue, the wild tobacco will switch it's pollinators, it will begin to open flowers at a different time, the flowers will also change shape and smell, attracting humming birds as its new pollinator. It's aware of the organisms that are pollinating it, and it responds appropriately to attract pollinators, to repel parasites, and so on.
I think this makes it obvious that plants are aware of their surrounding and the organisms which inhabit them...
Another example from that film is the "Dodder vine", this parasitic vine has no root system and can not produce its on food, it's entirely dependant on a host plant, which it has 48 hours to locate, the experiment in the link.above demonstrates the vines ability to select it's host, showing it has awareness of the plants in its surroundings, and is able to select the best host...
There are many examples of how plants are aware of their surroundings and the life forms in them, and how plants will use chemistry to manipulate the biology around them.
It's hard for people to understand plants as being aware or having behavior, and there are many reasons for this, it is a different sort of awareness, and it's also occurring at a speed in time Which is far different from what we considered "normal"...meaning you have to.watch plants in time-lapse to truly observe their behavior, and one must also consider that half of the plant exists under ground, and the chemical signaling and communications between plants and other plants and between plants and the lifeforms surrounding them is invisible, so.it's not obvious to the observer...
I would say 100% yes, plants are conscious.
I am also of the opinion that a physical body is not a prerequisite for conscious-being, I do not feel that our consciousness is a product of the physical body or our Neuro-functioning...these subjective viewpoints make it seem entirely reasonable that consciousness exists in all living things...
But these are just my personal feelings...
As for the plant consciousness issue, it's up for debate, I guess your definition of "consciousness" plays heavily in your interpretation of the situation as well.
-eg
