Botany; Geotropism; Plants -- Irritability and movements
Oxalis Ortegesii.—The large leaves of this plant sleep like those of
the previous species. The main petioles are long, and that of a young
leaf rose 20° between noon and 10 P.M., whilst the petiole of an older
leaf rose only 13°. Owing to this rising of the petioles, and the
vertical sinking of the large leaflets, the leaves become crowded
together at night, and the whole plant then exposes a much smaller
surface to radiation than during the day.
Oxalis Plumierii.—In this species the three leaflets do not surround
the summit of the petiole, but the terminal leaflet projects in the
line of the petiole, with a lateral leaflet on each side. They all
sleep by bending vertically downwards, but do not become at all folded.
The petiole is rather long, and, one having been secured to a stick,
the movement of the terminal leaflet was traced during 45 h. on a
vertical glass. It moved in a very simple manner, sinking rapidly after
5 P.M., and rising rapidly early next morning. During the middle of the
day it moved slowly and a little laterally. Consequently the ascending
and descending lines did not coincide, and a single great ellipse was
formed each day. There was no other evidence of circumnutation, and
this fact is of interest, as we shall hereafter see.
Oxalis sensitiva.—The leaflets, as in the last species, bend vertically
down at night, without becoming folded. The much elongated main petiole
rises considerably in the evening, but in
some very young plants the rise did not commence until late at night.
We have seen that the cotyledons, instead of sinking like the leaflets,
rise up vertically at night.
Oxalis bupleurifolia.—This species is rendered remarkable by the
petioles being foliaceous, like the phyllodes of many Acacias. The
leaflets are small, of a paler green and more tender consistence than
the foliaceous petioles. The leaflet which was observed was .55 inch in
length, and was borne by a petiole 2 inches long and .3 inch broad. It
may be suspected that the leaflets are on the road to abortion or
obliteration, as has actually occurred with those of another Brazilian
species, O. rusciformis. Nevertheless, in the present species the
nyctitropic movements are perfectly performed. The foliaceous petiole
was first observed during 48 h., and found to be in continued
circumnutation, as shown in the accompanying figure (Fig. 130). It rose
during the day and early part of the night, and fell during the
remainder of the night and early morning; but the movement was not
sufficient to be called sleep. The ascending and descending lines did
not coincide, so that an ellipse was formed each day. There was but
little zigzagging; if the filament had been fixed longitudinally, we
should probably have seen that there was more lateral movement than
appears in the diagram.
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