Botany; Geotropism; Plants -- Irritability and movements
As soon as the cotyledons have been naturally dragged from beneath the
ground, and the hypocotyl has straightened itself by growth along the
inner or concave surface, there is nothing to interfere with the free
movements of the parts; and the circumnutation now becomes much more
regular and clearly displayed, as shown in the following cases:—A
seedling was placed in front and near a north-east window with a line
joining the
two cotyledons parallel to the window. It was thus left the whole day
so as to accommodate itself to the light. On the following morning a
filament was fixed to the midrib of the larger and taller cotyledon
(which enfolds the other and smaller one, whilst still within the
seed), and a mark being placed close behind, the movement of the whole
plant, that is, of the hypocotyl and cotyledon, was traced greatly
magnified on a vertical glass. At first the plant bent so much towards
the light that it was useless to attempt to trace the movement; but at
10 A.M. heliotropism almost wholly ceased and the first dot was made on
the glass. The last was made at 8.45 P.M.; seventeen dots being
altogether made in this interval of 10 h. 45 m. (see Fig. 6). It should
be noticed that when I looked shortly after 4 P.M. the bead was
pointing off the glass, but it came on again at 5.30 P.M., and the
course during this interval of 1 h. 30 m. has been filled up by
imagination, but cannot be far from correct. The bead moved seven times
from side to side, and thus described 3½ ellipses in 10 3/4 h.; each
being completed on an average in 3 h. 4 m.
Fig. 6. Brassica oleracea: conjoint circumnutation of the hypocotyl and
cotyledons during 10 hours 45 minutes. Figure here reduced to one-half
original scale.
On the previous day another seedling had been observed under similar
conditions, excepting that the plant was so
placed that a line joining the two cotyledons pointed towards the
window; and the filament was attached to the smaller cotyledon on the
side furthest from the window. Moreover the plant was now for the first
time placed in this position. The cotyledons bowed themselves greatly
towards the light from 8 to 10.50 A.M., when the first dot was made
(Fig. 7). During the next 12 hours the bead swept obliquely up and down
8 times and described 4 figures representing ellipses; so that it
travelled at nearly the same rate as in the previous case. during the
night it moved upwards, owing to the sleep-movement of the cotyledons,
and continued to move in the same direction till 9 A.M. on the
following morning; but this latter movement would not have occurred
with seedlings under their natural conditions fully exposed to the
light.
Fig. 7. Brassica oleracea: conjoint circumnutation of the hypocotyl and
cotyledons, from 10.50 A.M. to 8 A.M. on the following morning. Tracing
made on a vertical glass.
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