The Movements and Habits of Climbing PlantsDarwin, Charles
Science
The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants
Darwin, Charles
Climbing plants; Geotropism; Plants; Plants -- Irritability and movements
Tendrils of which the extremities are permanently and slightly curved,
are sensitive only on the concave surface; other tendrils, such as those
of the Cobæa (though furnished with horny hooks directed to one side) and
those of _Cissus discolor_, are sensitive on all sides. Hence the
tendrils of this latter plant, when stimulated by a touch of equal force
on opposite sides, did not bend. The inferior and lateral surfaces of
the tendrils of _Mutisia_ are sensitive, but not the upper surface. With
branched tendrils, the several branches act alike; but in the _Hanburya_
the lateral spur-like branch does not acquire (for excellent reasons
which have been explained) its sensitiveness nearly so soon as the main
branch. With most tendrils the lower or basal part is either not at all
sensitive, or sensitive only to prolonged contact. We thus see that the
sensitiveness of tendrils is a special and localized capacity. It is
quite independent of the power of spontaneously revolving; for the
curling of the terminal portion from touch does not in the least
interrupt the former movement. In _Bignonia unguis_ and its close
allies, the petioles of the leaves, as well as the tendrils, are
sensitive to a touch.
Twining plants when they come into contact with a stick, curl round it
invariably in the direction of their revolving movement; but tendrils
curl indifferently to either side, in accordance with the position of the
stick and the side which is first touched. The clasping movement of the
extremity is apparently not steady, but undulatory or vermicular in its
nature, as may be inferred from the curious manner in which the tendrils
of the Echinocystis slowly crawled round a smooth stick.
As with a few exceptions tendrils spontaneously revolve, it may be
asked,—why have they been endowed with sensitiveness?—why, when they come
into contact with a stick, do they not, like twining plants, spirally
wind round it? One reason may be that they are in most cases so flexible
and thin, that when brought into contact with any object, they would
almost certainly yield and be dragged onwards by the revolving movement.
Moreover, the sensitive extremities have no revolving power as far as I
have observed, and could not by this means curl round a support. With
twining plants, on the other hand, the extremity spontaneously bends more
than any other part; and this is of high importance for the ascent of the
plant, as may be seen on a windy day. It is, however, possible that the
slow movement of the basal and stiffer parts of certain tendrils, which
wind round sticks placed in their path, may be analogous to that of
twining plants. But I hardly attended sufficiently to this point, and it
would have been difficult to distinguish between a movement due to
extremely dull irritability, from the arrestment of the lower part,
whilst the upper part continued to move onwards.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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