Plant of the day is: Codariocalyx motorius or telegraph plant
Very excited to be growing these from seed. These are a really unique and interesting plant that I have seen move (pretty nifty). They are similar to solar panels with motors that align to the best angle of the sun to maximize energy uptake...except they don't do it with motors. They ARE the motor. One could say they are motoring. Find out their price for flight below.
FIRST: Watch this video! It's fun. You can really see those lateral leaflets a waggin
Photo Credit: Yercaud-elango (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Taxonomy, etc.: So this is another Fabaceae or legume. It is actually sometimes referenced as a Desmodium, making it very closely related to the many Desmodium found here in Missouri. You've probably taken some of this ones relatives home with you after a hike, hunt, or run through the woods. Stick tights my dad used to call em. The flowers/inflorescence look similar to Desmodium to be sure. The treatment of Codariocalyx is potentially still up for debate. Curious to see if enough people clamor loudly enough to stick it in Desmodium.
The other species of the genus but you get the flowering idea.
Description: Tropical Asian shrub and one of the few plants capable of relatively rapid movement. Flowers are purple, leaves are trifoliate and lanceolate with the terminal leaflet much larger than the smaller lateral ones. These smaller leaves move in periods of about 3 to 5 minutes and move on an elliptical plane and sample the intensity of the light. As the hypothesis goes, moving leaves takes a lot of energy so these smaller leaves move independently of the large leaf, essentially sampling the sun for the right reading and then moving the larger leaves in place for optimal absorption of photons. Another hypothesis exists that the movement deters predators. I'd love to run a few trials :). Described in detail in Charles Darwin's 1880 The Power of Movement in Plants. In colder regions it is deciduous and goes through a dormancy, grows year round in warmer climates. Grows to a height of around a meter, give or take a bit.
Important to note that touching the plant does not make it move like Mimosa pudica (sensitive plant). One of the REALLY cool things about this plant is that sound may make it move. That's right. Sound. Particularly high pitch (high frequency) sound waves. They move fast enough for the human eye to see ...though time lapse highlights the movement better. The more they are exposed to sounds the more improved their "dancing", which leads to some speculation that they have a kind of memory. Unlikely, but who knows. Either way, fun stuff to ponder. A lot of controversy about whether or not sound vibrations do make it move. I really wanna get some tunes cranked into these and do some tests.
Habitat/culture: Found through a pretty broad range of China, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Not a particularly uncommon plant. Prefers a fairly neutral pH between 6-7.5. Like to dry out well between watering. Can be in full sun if grown in clay...part shade to full shade if in a sandy or loamy mix. If growing inside watch for aphids on young foliage and, confirmed personally, thrips. Legumes are thrip magnets, they love em.
Supplemental: Movement is caused by swelling and shrinking of motor cells in pulvini at the base of the leaflets (same concept as Mimosa pudica). Ion and water movements cause these changes across the cell membranes of the motor cells. Also. This plant is interesting in that it produces some tryptamine alkaloids ...DMT and 5-MeO-DMT. Trippy stuff.
Sometimes called the semaphore plant. They used to use crazy light house like structures and cards to send messages across distances kind of like smoke signals... A sempahore telegraph. Check it out.
Wow I wish I could get the plant of the day sent to my email of follow you on FB this was great
ReplyDeleteHey, i am wondering if you could help me. I have a dancing plant at home and it developed brown spots around it's leaf edges. I am guessing it's probably some nutrient deficiency. What kind of fertilizer/soil do you give to your plant. thanks
ReplyDeleteHello! This is a very interesting article. I know it's over 5 years old now, so I am not expecting a response... but where did you find out that C. motorious is deciduous in cold regions? I was not aware of this, but the plants that I have grown eventually shed their leaves after some months and I am wondering if it's at all possible that they are just entering dormancy. Regardless, thanks for writing this article.
ReplyDelete