Moving Plants

2025-04-04

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Last year, my wife and I visited EPCOT park at Walt Disney World. The park has a ride called "Living With the Land" that showcases research and innovations in sustainable agriculture. Visitors can purchase an additional in-depth tour called "Behind the Seeds," and decided to give it a try.

One of the plants featured in the tour was a Mimosa pudica plant affectionately named Stanley. Native to South America, this plant is notable for having leaves that rapidly move when touched or shaken. Our tour guide demonstrated the effect quite dramatically by shaking Stanley's pot, and we witnessed all the plant's branches fold in within seconds.

(WEBP, 450x450, 3.96 MiB)

I found the plant fascinating, but I didn't think much about it in the following months. But as I've started to pay more attention to plants and our garden, I've noticed similar action happening right here at home.

Our yard gets several dandelions each year, and this week we've seen the lawn dotted with little yellow flowers. We've also had some rain this week. And for the first time, I finally noticed that fact that dandelion flowers close up in the rain. Of course, they don't do so as rapidly as Mimosa pudica, but the effect of plants moving in response to external stimuli is still interesting to see.

I wonder what other fascinating natural processes happen all around me that I simply never pay attention to.

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[Last updated: 2025-04-04]