Life Movements in Plants, Volume IBose, Jagadis Chandra
Science
Life Movements in Plants, Volume I
Bose, Jagadis Chandra
Growth (Plants); Plants -- Irritability and movements
There is an additional electric method by which the excitatory
change may be recorded. I find that excitation induces a variation
of the electrical resistance of a vegetable tissue.[Y] Thus the same
excitatory reaction finds diverse concomitant manifestations, in
diminution of turgor, in movement, in variation of growth, and in
electrical change. The correspondence in the different phases of
response in pulvinated, ordinary, and growing organs may be stated
as follows: Excitation induces diminution of turgor, contraction and
fall of the leaf of _Mimosa_; it induces an incipient contraction or
retardation of rate of growth in a growing organ; it gives rise in
all plant organs to an electric response of galvanometric negativity
and of changed resistance. All these excitatory manifestations will,
for convenience, be designated as the _negative_ response. There is
a responsive reaction which is opposite to the excitatory change
described above. In _Mimosa_ the fall of leaf under excitation is
due to a sudden diminution of turgor; the erection of the leaf is
brought about by natural or artificial restoration of turgor. Rise
of temperature induces an expansive reaction which is antagonistic
to that induced by stimulus. Warmth also enhances the rate of growth
and induces an electric change of galvanometric positivity.[Z] The
restoration of normal turgor or enhancement of turgor is associated
with expansion, erection of the leaf of _Mimosa_, enhancement of rate
of growth in a growing organ, electric response of galvanometric
positivity, and contrasted change of electric resistance. All these
will be distinguished as _positive_ response.
[Y] This variation is sometimes positive, and at other times negative,
according to the condition of the tissue.
[Z] BOSE--“Comparative Electro-physiology”--p. 75.
There are thus several independent means of detecting the excitatory
change or its opposite reaction in vegetable tissues. It will be seen
that the employment of these different methods has greatly extended our
power of investigation on the phenomenon of irritability of plants.
We have seen how essentially similar are the responsive reactions
in pulvinated and in growing organs. It is therefore rational to
seek for an explanation of a particular movement in a growing organ
from ascertained facts relating to the corresponding movement in a
pulvinated organ. The investigations on motile and growing organs that
have been described fully establish the two important facts that,
Direct stimulus induces contraction and Indirect stimulus induces
the opposite expansive reaction. These facts will be found to offer
full explanation of various tropic curvatures to be described in the
subsequent series of Papers.
SUMMARY.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account