Botany; Geotropism; Plants -- Irritability and movements
Cassia tora[1] (Leguminosae).—A seedling was placed before a
north-east window; it bent very little towards it, as the hypocotyl
which was left free was rather old, and therefore not highly
heliotropic. A filament had been fixed to the midrib of one of the
cotyledons, and the movement of the whole seedling was traced during
two days. The circumnutation of the hypocotyl is quite insignificant
compared with that of the cotyledons. These rise up vertically at night
and come into close contact; so that they may be said to sleep. This
seedling was so old that a very small true leaf had been developed,
which at night was completely hidden by the closed cotyledons. On Sept.
24th, between 8 A.M. and 5 P.M., the cotyledons moved five times up and
five times down; they therefore described five irregular ellipses in
the course of the 9 h. The great nocturnal rise commenced about 4.30
P.M.
[1] Seeds of this plant, which grew near the sea-side, were sent to us
by Fritz Müller from S. Brazil. The seedlings did not flourish or
flower well with us; they were sent to Kew, and were pronounced not to
be distinguishable from C. tora.
Fig. 25. Cassia tora: conjoint circumnutation of cotyledons and
hypocotyl, traced on vertical glass, from 7.10 A.M. Sept. 25th to 7.30
A.M. 26th. Figure here given reduced to one-half of original scale.
On the following morning (Sept. 25th) the movement of the same
cotyledon was again traced in the same manner during 24 h.; and a copy
of the tracing is here given (Fig. 25). The morning was cold, and the
window had been accidentally left open for a short time, which must
have chilled the plant; and this probably prevented it from moving
quite as freely as on the previous day; for it rose only four and sank
only four times during the day, one of the oscillations being very
small. At 7.10 A.M., when the first dot was made, the cotyledons were
not fully open or awake; they continued to open till about 9 A.M., by
which time they had sunk a little beneath the horizon: by 9.30 A.M.
they had risen, and then they oscillated up and down; but the upward
and downward lines never quite coincided. At about 4.30 P.M. the great
nocturnal rise commenced. At 7 A.M. on the following morning (Sept.
26th) they occupied nearly the same level as on the previous morning,
as shown in the diagram: they then began to open or sink in the usual
manner. The diagram leads to the belief that the great periodical daily
rise and fall does not differ essentially, excepting in amplitude, from
the oscillations during the middle of the day.
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