BOTANICAL MYTHS: FAKE NEWS OF THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD MITOS BOTÂNICOS: FAKE NEWS DO MUNDO CONTEMPORÂNEO

The myths take many forms depending on the cultures in which we find them; however, their function is always to explain natural phenomena that occur in their surroundings. As observed throughout human history, it is an inherent condition for the human species to believe in the metaphysical and to use their individual, and introspective thinking as a way to achieve their dreams and goals; something that works as a responsible 'driving force' in many cases, for governing and inspiring the human individual. Additionally, populations or part of communities that obtain their livelihood and/or subsistence directly from agricultural activity spontaneously express a greater willingness to believe in the 'infallible' agroforestry myths, which explain the possible botanical phenomena. In light of this, our present study lists the main physiological bases refuting different botanical myths based on evidence proven in original articles. Furthermore, our phenomenological approach was carried out in an eclectic way in the field of botany and is not linked to any specific authority or philosophical school. Finally, we explore and integrate different, mutually compatible approaches to provide the reader with a global understanding of the 'infallibility' of botanical myths.


INTRODUCTION
Often, our smartphones, social networks and mailboxes are flooded with information from entertainment, self-knowledge, miraculous food supplements, and sighting of flying saucers and aliens that lived in the past among us. Furthermore, this information avalanche, for the most part, does not present scientific evidence (ZHANG; GHORBANI, 2020).
Since ancient times, humanity has relentlessly sought to understand and justify the natural phenomena observed in its environment. Among the countless situations that our ancestors experienced, in a world completely different from the reality we know today, the observation of the development of plants was routine, as their survival depended mainly on subsistence cultivation (SCHAAL, 2019).
In general, people who presented some stage of their life linked to rural life, or even those who Based on the premises previously exposed, our present study aims to shed light on the main botanical bases on the physiological metabolism of plant species to refute different botanic myths, based on evidence proven in scientific publications. We will present the empirical justifications that explain the observed phenomena and refute the belief that the 'Man' with his 'thought' is responsible for the occurrence of natural phenomena.

ORIGIN OF BOTANIC MYTHS
For millennia, humanity has had a natural tendency to 'believe what you want to believe'. The limitation of the mind is a natural imprisoner that reduces the understanding of reality (PILATI, 2018). This same author reports that mental limitations easily lead us to believe in explanations that are distant from reality and we 'insist' on believing, especially in 'infallible' belief systems. On the other hand, science and technology, whose main feature is its 'fallible' character, are flawed. Historically, mythological oral transmissions are fantastic tales with origin and circulation within a given community, since human beings have always had the innate need to explain and understand what they have just seen or experienced. In the ancient world, myths existed to express 'essential truths' that, in a practical sense, many people today would call the gospel (PETIŠKA, 2000).
The word "myth" is derived from the Greek "mythos", which means "history", which allows us to state that 'mythology' refers to a set of stories, often with a naive and simplified interpretation of the world and its origin (MERKUR, 2015). Ultimately, mythology represents the experience of mystical union or direct communion of the observed experience with reality. Myths are not scientific or sociological theories about these issues and are the result of the way a nation or group has pondered these big questions. In the West, the search for facts of science is similar to the search for facts of history; however, both differ from the search for religious experience in the present (FAWKES, 2017). At 525 BC, Teágenes classified myths as 3 analogies or scientific allegories to explain phenomena of nature that people could not understand. These 'scientific' myths sought to explain the development of plant species, flowering, fruit formation, and the death of plants. Undoubtedly, the creation of myths and their use in daily life has always been one of the most common human endeavors (Table 1).

Shennong Chinese
Historically, during the 'new world' colonization process, for example, in Brazil, the religion and beliefs of the different native tribes, which existed there, were replaced and merged in a process of religious syncretism with the beliefs of the colonizers. Basically, the values of belief and religiosity were gradually incorporated directly and indirectly into the daily lives of the population that gradually adjusted to the social changes that were taking place there, which certainly provided an 'environment' for the mix of popular beliefs were the best language to interpret the phenomena of nature (DROOGERS, 2015). 4 Probability is the basis of statistics and is closely related to science; however, mysticism is a field full of vague definitions words. While classical science believed in the immutability of natural laws (ABRAHAM, 2015), the growth of modern science occurred thanks to the advancement of statistical knowledge, as we daily discern issues such as the efficiency of medicines and the popularity of politicians through statistical reasoning that is useful both in science and in everyday life (MLODINOW, 2009). In general, the scientific method is not dissociated from the probability, and the individual who appropriately appropriates the scientific method can claim legitimate results that protect him from individual idiosyncrasies (COOKE; SHRADER-FRECHETTE, 1991).
Normally, the human mind tends to identify causes for an event without accepting the influence of random or unrelated factors; however, valuing probability helps in understanding the experimental design and interpreting the results, since mathematics is a field that depends on words, signs, and symbols with precise definitions (GOTELLI; ELLISON, 2016). Furthermore, mathematics acts in the field of certainties, and probability acts in the field of uncertainties, which allows the understanding of complex phenomena from the variations that occur in different fields of knowledge (BLITZSTEIN; HWANG, 2019).
Undoubtedly, our society is currently in an evident technological advance that increasingly enables the realization of numerous commitments and meetings, which multiply in 'geometric progression', however with ever shorter deadlines, which requires physics and psychologically more and more human beings. Certainly, these elements, added to unhealthy habits and little time for introspection, are responsible for a range of stresses (TAMS; AHUJA; THATCHER; GROVER,2020), and these stressful events are often associated with a feeling of "bad luck" in the face of some difficulty (wrong choices in personal relationships, financial losses, failure in a personal or professional company, etc.) that re often beyond your control (known terminology) as fortune, in Latin, that is, it associates with 'non-rational' points. For example, if a person goes through a bad period in his life and gets a four-leaf-clover (Oxalis deppei lodd.) and, later, his life starts to improve, the subconscious associates that improvement with the plant. So, what happens is the combination of factors, probabilistic, which are associated with the presence of the plant ('totem') having 'mystical' properties when it proves favorable and permissible in the face of your beliefs (ZANINI, 2009).
Currently, there is an endless supply of communication channels among the population, such as blogs, instant messengers, television programs, and websites that have little concern for scientific veracity when disseminating information that has previously been rigorously tested and scientific method disseminating, to 'stride' and deliberately, information without scientific proof, the so-called fake news (ALDWAIRI; ALWAHEDI, 2018

'TALKING WITH THE PLANTS' STIMULATES PLANT DEVELOPMENT
One of the main news that is most popular among plant lovers is the strong belief that 'talking' with plants results in healthy, vigorous plants, flowering and even 'rejuvenates' plant individuals.
Undoubtedly, people's contact with plants, whether visiting parks, walking through tree-lined streets, or even the hobby of growing plants, is something salutary, a sensory experience that conveys a pleasant feeling, greater comfort, and more mental relaxation purchased from those who have completed a technology-related task (LIU; WANG; LU; LI et al., 2020). The myth of inferring that the conversation between human beings and plants brings benefits to the latter may even seem sympathetic, at first, however, there are no robust and sufficient scientific foundations to validate the myth itself, with wide physiological results published in textbooks in the field of plant physiology. Mechanical waves other than electromagnetic waves need a physical medium for their propagation, which generates vibration and pressure in the material, mechanisms responsible for wave transmission (MOURAILLE; LUDING, 2008). However, to observe the influence of a mechanical wave on metabolic processes, it is necessary to use specific frequencies that can be maintained for periods, which is very difficult, if not impossible, to be performed during a conversation between a human and the plant. Exposure frequencies and time are important, as they generate acoustic clues about their environments through disturbances caused in the plasma membrane, which trigger hyperpolarization of the plasma membrane that allows rapid Ca 2+ ion entrance, and temporary accumulation in the cytoplasm (RODRIGO-MORENO et al., 2017). Thus, the rapid accumulation of calcium and the output of potassium generate a signal that marks the direction of growth, which is in the direction of the stimulus.
Biologically, sounds are especially important for the communication of various living beings. In particular, plants are capable of producing sound waves resulting from cavitation when exposed to water deficit with the emission of sound from their vascular tissue (GAGLIANO; MANCUSO; ROBERT, 2012), however, these same authors claim that the sound emission is dispersed, also emitted by plants that do not respond to water stress or cavitation, which denotes that this capacity for bioacoustic detection is linked to its sensory system and its interactions with the environment. The  (TREWAVAS, 2003). For some authors, the intelligence of plants is related to their ability to process information from vascular tissues, such as phloem and xylem, act in a similar way to 'neurons' while transmitting and receiving electrical, molecular, and hydraulic information from all parts of the plant (BALUŠKA; VOLKMANN; HLAVACKA; . However, the sonority that exists in nature does not necessarily mean a communication or 'conversation' between natural entities and between them and humans, being, therefore, the dialogue between humans and plants, an act of ventriloquism, because the world is a deafening place and we humans may not notice all these communications and interactions that occur (INGOLD, 2013). Therefore, these analyses do not necessarily imply an evident manifestation of communication with the human being itself but rather a form of circumstantial reaction by the plant.
In this way, all the myths reported and the ones we have and had contacts with, so far, that is the one that the presence of the human is necessary for the plant to benefit, but not for addressing the plant and uttering sounds, gestures, thoughts, but by dedicating 'manual' care and, consequently, less aggressive to the environment, which will favor your survival (WHITEHEAD; MACLEOD; CAMPBELL, 2020). It is considered that every individual plant, regardless of the species to which it belongs, when receiving luminosity (hours of light and hours of darkness), essential mineral elements, irrigation, temperature, and relative air humidity will ensure that the plant expresses its physiological potential and completes its life cycle (TAIZ; ZEIGER; MØLLER; MURPHY, 2015).
If the plant is injured by insect pests or diseases, naturally, some plant individuals grown in different 'homes' tolerate a non-severe attack; however, its vigor and visual aspects tend to expose some symptoms, e.g., change in leaf color, cutouts, or holes in the leaf blade, necrotic scores, etc.
From then on, it is quite reasonable for lovers and plant owners to worry about these first signs and try, with reason, to mitigate the signs, using their own hands to clean and remove necrotic leaves, insect pests or apply natural products for pathogen control, among other cultural treatments (ANDRADE; NUNES, 2001). The myth hypothesizes that when talking directly with the plant, this action will help the plant to tolerate and overcome pathogenicity. When talking close to the plant, inevitably, the owner, visually, will observe this plant more carefully and remove dry/old leaves, sucking and masticator insects, irrigating the growing substrate in the vase or flower bed. When performing manual care, plant development will be favorable, and consequently, it will express its physiological potential. To date, there are still some assertions without sufficient scientific basement that human expiration, close to the plant, favors the concentration of inorganic carbon in the substomatal chamber and, consequently, Therefore, the benefits that humanity, in the home environment, can provide to plants are restricted to techniques and management of cultivation, empirical, and observable strategies. These conditions are extremely different from the myth that "intentionality of thoughts" through conversation/CO2 expiration, directed at the plant, will bring benefits to plant growth and development.   CASALLI et al., 2003) reported that the rose has a lower percentage of rooting during the winter (between June and September in the Southern Hemisphere); nevertheless, there is a small percentage of chance (probability) in obtaining a plant individual resulting from this technique.
If the cutting preparation is carried out at the right time (spring season), it is not a question of 'luck', but the execution of a methodological protocol at the right time. Then, if the human individual correctly executes the protocol at the recommended time but does not achieve the expected/desired success, there is no "bad luck" factor at cuttings, but rather, that there is something technical not correctly adopted, for example, the choice of cuttings with the wrong diameter thickness, rooting which present food flavoring, natural repellent and sacred rituals (DE SMET, 1985). In addition to the application of pepper for culinary purposes, there was always an appreciation from the population for a belief that it would bring benefits in the treatment of hemorrhoids (GUPTA, 2008). However, these beliefs are not confirmed by the scientific community, as patients with hemorrhoids are advised to avoid foods with the potential to irritate such as peppers, coffees, colas, and spices (OHNING; MACHICADO;JENSEN, 2009); that is, their consumption is not recommended for patients with anal fissures because pepper seems to aggravate the condition of patients with acute anal fissures (ulcers).
The agroforestry myth about pepper cultivated near or inside their homes, or even carrying personal amulet objects shaped like the pepper fruit, will represent something like a "filter" or even a "lightning rod", for 'bad' thoughts or feelings of 'envy' by passers-by or close to believer and, why not, people belong the family, or even as a way of 'immunize the material possessions' that are important to the believer. Thus, if the plant 'to dry' or 'death', after the situation occurs, immediately believers in the myth associate this phenological event with the fact that the plant 'captured' these bad thoughts', causing its death.
Historically, it is perfectly understandable that humanity has sought conscious and unconscious explanations to understand the nature around them (HEINÄMAA; LÄHTEENMÄKI; REMES, 2007). This situation becomes even more intriguing when we imagine, for example, one vigorous plant individual at a present moment and, later on, the same plant individual shows signs of decline that, in some cases, to death. There is sufficient scientific evidence to affirm that plants are vigorous and healthy in favorable environmental conditions, whether these are abiotic factors (photoperiod, temperature, water regime, mineral nutrition) (TENENBOIM; BROTMAN, 2016)  There are many passive approaches already documented in the literature to refute the myth, for example, the necessity for the pepper plant to require a tenuous adjustment of water potential in the soil, somewhere between -0.01 to -0.07 MPa (GUTIÉRREZ-GÓMEZ; CARRILLO-AVILA; LANDEROS-SÁNCHEZ; COH-MÉNDEZ et al., 2018). This means that if the hydric availability in the soil oscillates, until some values of the water potential, the plant will be able to absorb water from the soil solution and balance its cellular osmotic adjustment while keeping alive. If the water availability in this same soil reaches lower than adequate hydric potential values, the plant will not be able to absorb water, and even if the volume of water is restored to the soil, it will not be possible to invigorate the plant (LARCHER; HUBER-SANNWALD; WIESER, 2003).
Another very pertinent example to the theme is the life cycle of pepper species, as they are plants that have a relatively short life cycle, and it is natural for the plant to enter senescence and death (IPGRI, 1995). Complementing, even the natural and constant alternation of climatic seasons throughout the year can be a trigger for an annual cycle plant to start its senescence and death, since if the plant species were sown and/or transplanted to the place it received solar light in this occasion (for example, 16h of light per day) and, with the progress of time, the initially luminous region does not receive the adequate amount of daylight (or hours of darkness, if applicable!), this stressful situation will certainly contribute to the death of the plant (RODRÍGUEZ-CALZADA; QIAN; STRID; NEUGART et al., 2019).
In this sense, it is important to highlight that these stresses caused by water deficit, insufficiency, or excess daylight cause the formation of signaling molecules such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in low concentrations and in a transient way are fundamental for the maintenance of plant life; however, severe events can lead to a rapid accumulation of these reactive molecules so that the defense systems are enzymatic and nonenzymatic, which leads to the death of the plant. Therefore, it is evident that plant development and survival are the results of a myriad of genomic, nutritional, and hormonal factors that must occur together (WANG; CIMEN; SINGH; BUCKLER, 2020). The simplest imbalance in this 'fine-tuning' of factors will be enough for the withered leaves, regardless of the human presence or absence of surroundings.

FLOWERING OF PLANT SPECIES CONDITIONED TO 'RELIGIOUS SCHEDULE'
The Tibouchina candolleane (DC.) Cogn (Melastomataceae) species, popularly known as quaresmeira ('lent'), is a plant pioneer perennial angiosperm spontaneously (native) in the rainforest on the Atlantic hillside, and routinely, this species is used in landscape and urban arborization projects The literature indicates that approximately 98% of the total volume of water absorbed by the root structures is transpired into the atmosphere by the aerial part of the plants, and the rest is used in photosynthetic processes (approximately 1.5%) and other metabolic processes (0.5%). The production of 1 g of dry matter, the plant needs to transpire the impressive volume of 1 to 1.5 L of water (TAIZ; ZEIGER; MØLLER; MURPHY, 2015), which results for some tree species (for example, Eucalyptus spp.) the incredible mark of 3200 L. transpired at 24 hours (OUYANG; XU; LEININGER; ZHANG, 2016). Thus, the total use of water in Eucalyptus plantations, Morris, and collaborators (MORRIS;NINGNAN;ZENGJIANG;COLLOPY et al., 2004) report that this cultivation demands a total rainfall volume of 550 L.m -2 year -1 .
When extrapolating to an agricultural scenario of grains and cereals, for example, Brazil, it is estimated that to produce 250.9 million tons of grains in the 2019/2020 cycle (CONAB, 2020), this value specifically refers to the grain mass with moisture (approximately 10 to 15% v / v), and the wet mass is removed (dry matter value) only after drying the grains at 65ºC at 72h (BENINCASA, 2003 15 Thus, although we can be impressed with the absolute numbers presented, the volume of water transpired by a single individual is essential for the physiological mechanisms to occur, for example, transport mineral elements, mRNA, and small peptides towards the aerial part (SALISBURY; ROSS, 2012). The selection of genotypes that combine high biomass production, high water use efficiency (WUE), and adequate wood properties is a major challenge for the improvement of tree species with commercial interest. Additionally, there are encouraging results for the selection of Eucalyptus varieties adapted to dry areas, maintaining good performances concerning other economic characteristics of interest (BOUVET; MAKOUANZI EKOMONO; BRENDEL; LACLAU et al., 2020).
Thus, there is no indiscriminate water use by the plant itself. What often occurs is the technical management of production in inadequate environmental areas and/or with a very high number of individuals per ha (LIU; WU; FAN; DUAN et al., 2017). Thus, in no way, each plant individual will consume more water than it needs for its survival.

EXCEPTIONALITIES AND PRELIMINARY STUDIES
At this point, dear reader, perhaps your landlady will ask: -"… but what if myths occur?" -"… and if I witness some of these myths, what is the meaning?" Faced with these possible and intriguing natural occurrences, mathematics indicates that, regardless of the observed phenomena, there is a minimal probability that the referred myth has occurred in the way it is postulated and this is due to random phenomenological factors and not, precisely, by the motivation of the myth itself. For example, the variability of the genetic makeup of some plant individuals can give rise to results that coincide with 'human' actions and 'human thoughts' and convey the feeling that the 'materialization' of the expected phenomenon (myth) is something orchestrated by simple will human.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Our study politely approached, throughout its argumentation, the deep respect and understanding of the different creeds and faiths that deal with botanical myths. Additionally, we respect all points of view, whether supported by scientific publications or not, and reiterate our commitment to writing this review article based on reproducible and publicized scientific evidence in the specialized scientific literature.
As noted, throughout human history, it is an inherent condition for the human species to believe in the metaphysical and use their individual and introspective thinking as a way to 'materialize' their dreams and goals, something that works as a 'driving force' responsible, in many cases, responsible for governing and animating the human individual. The interpretation of the natural world around us requires, from each of us, an examination of conscience when facing the dilemma between living in the uncertainty of what we know or living with the certainty of something that can be mistaken.
In the end, but not least, information corroborated or not corroborated by the scientific literature,