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
The power of revolving depends on the general health and vigour of the
plant, as has been laboriously shown by Palm. But the movement of each
separate internode is so independent of the others, that cutting off an
upper one does not affect the revolutions of a lower one. When, however,
Dutrochet cut off two whole shoots of the Hop, and placed them in water,
the movement was greatly retarded; for one revolved in 20 hrs. and the
other in 23 hrs., whereas they ought to have revolved in between 2 hrs.
and 2 hrs. 30 m. Shoots of the Kidney-bean, cut off and placed in water,
were similarly retarded, but in a less degree. I have repeatedly
observed that carrying a plant from the greenhouse to my room, or from
one part to another of the greenhouse, always stopped the movement for a
time; hence I conclude that plants in a state of nature and growing in
exposed situations, would not make their revolutions during very stormy
weather. A decrease in temperature always caused a considerable
retardation in the rate of revolution; but Dutrochet (tom. xvii. pp. 994,
996) has given such precise observations on this head with respect to the
common pea that I need say nothing more. When twining plants are placed
near a window in a room, the light in some cases has a remarkable power
(as was likewise observed by Dutrochet, p. 998, with the pea) on the
revolving movement, but this differs in degree with different plants;
thus _Ipomoea jucunda_ made a complete circle in 5 hrs. 30 m.; the
semicircle from the light taking 4 hrs. 80 m., and that towards the light
only 1 hr. _Lonicera brachypoda_ revolved, in a reversed direction to
the _Ipomoea_, in 8 hrs.; the semicircle from the light taking 5 hrs. 23
m., and that to the light only 2 hrs. 37 m. From the rate of revolution
in all the plants observed by me, being nearly the same during the night
and the day, I infer that the action of the light is confined to
retarding one semicircle and accelerating the other, so as not to modify
greatly the rate of the whole revolution. This action of the light is
remarkable, when we reflect how little the leaves are developed on the
young and thin revolving internodes. It is all the more remarkable, as
botanists believe (Mohl, p. 119) that twining plants are but little
sensitive to the action of light.
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