Botany; Geotropism; Plants -- Irritability and movements
One of the commonest and simplest cases of epinasty is that offered by
leaves, which at an early age are crowded together round the buds, and
diverge as they grow older. Sachs first remarked that this was due to
increased growth along the upper side of the petiole and blade; and De
Vries has now shown in more detail that the movement is thus caused,
aided slightly by
the weight of the leaf, and resisted as he believes by apogeotropism,
at least after the leaf has somewhat diverged. In our observations on
the circumnutation of leaves, some were selected which were rather too
young, so that they continued to diverge or sink downwards whilst their
movements were being traced. This may be seen in the diagrams (Figs. 98
and 112, pp. 232 and 249) representing the circumnutation of the young
leaves of Acanthus mollis and Pelargonium zonale. Similar cases were
observed with Drosera. The movements of a young leaf, only 3/4 inch in
length, of Petunia violacea were traced during four days, and offers a
better instance (Fig. 111, p. 248) as it diverged during the whole of
this time in a curiously zigzag line with some of the angles sharply
acute, and during the latter days plainly circumnutated. Some young
leaves of about the same age on a plant of this Petunia, which had been
laid horizontally, and on another plant which was left upright, both
being kept in complete darkness, diverged in the same manner for 48 h.,
and apparently were not affected by apogeotropism; though their stems
were in a state of high tension, for when freed from the sticks to
which they had been tied, they instantly curled upwards.
The leaves, whilst very young, on the leading shoots of the Carnation
(Dianthus caryophyllus) are highly inclined or vertical; and if the
plant is growing vigorously they diverge so quickly that they become
almost horizontal in a day. But they move downwards in a rather oblique
line and continue for some time afterwards to move in the same
direction, in connection, we presume, with their spiral arrangement on
the stem. The course pursued by a young leaf whilst thus obliquely
descending was traced, and the line was distinctly yet not strongly
zigzag; the larger angles formed by the successive lines amounting only
to 135°, 154°, and 163°. The subsequent lateral movement (shown in Fig.
96, p. 231) was strongly zigzag with occasional circumnutations. The
divergence and sinking of the young leaves of this plant seem to be
very little affected by geotropism or heliotropism; for a plant, the
leaves of which were growing rather slowly (as ascertained by
measurement) was laid horizontally, and the opposite young leaves
diverged from one another symmetrically in the usual manner, without
any upturning in the direction of gravitation or towards the light.
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