Darwinism stated by Darwin himself: Characteristic passages from the writings of Charles DarwinDarwin, Charles
Science
Darwinism stated by Darwin himself: Characteristic passages from the writings of Charles Darwin
Darwin, Charles
Evolution (Biology)
We doubted at first whether radiation would affect in any important
manner objects so thin as are many cotyledons and leaves, and more
especially affect differently their upper and lower surfaces; for,
although the temperature of their upper surfaces would undoubtedly fall
when freely exposed to a clear sky, yet we thought that they would so
quickly acquire by conduction the temperature of the surrounding air,
that it could hardly make any sensible difference to them whether they
stood horizontally, and radiated into the open sky, or vertically, and
radiated chiefly in a lateral direction toward neighboring plants and
other objects. We endeavored, therefore, to ascertain something on
this head, by preventing the leaves of several plants from going to
sleep, and by exposing to a clear sky, when the temperature was beneath
the freezing-point, these as well as the other leaves on the same
plants, which had already assumed their nocturnal vertical position.
Our experiments show that leaves thus compelled to remain horizontal
at night suffered much more injury from frost than those which were
allowed to assume their normal vertical position. It may, however, be
said that conclusions drawn from such observations are not applicable
to sleeping plants, the inhabitants of countries where frosts do not
occur. But in every country, and at all seasons, leaves must be exposed
to nocturnal chills through radiation, which might be in some degree
injurious to them, and which they would escape by assuming a vertical
position.
* * * * *
[The Power
of Movement
in Plants,
page 403.]
Any one who had never observed continuously a sleeping plant would
naturally suppose that the leaves moved only in the evening when going
to sleep, and in the morning when awaking; but he would be quite
mistaken, for we have found no exception to the rule that leaves which
sleep continue to move during the whole twenty-four hours; they move,
however, more quickly when going to sleep and when awaking than at
other times.
INFLUENCE OF LIGHT UPON PLANTS.
[The Power
of Movement
in Plants,
page 565.]
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