I can't head canon the TNG images as there's a lot of "hidden" filler stuff that's been found that doesn't make sense and are inside jokes. But I could rationalize Sulu's statement based on some of the background created in novels with his family history, cranes and such, and maybe he's extrapolating it. The early episodes were not the best to use for canon stuff anyway, as they hadn't figured lots of things out yet. Have we ever seen sentient plants since this?