Rapid plant movement encompasses movement in plant structures occurring over a very short period, usually under one second. For example, the

Venus flytrap The Venus flytrap (''Dionaea muscipula'') is a carnivorous plant native to the temperate and subtropical wetlands of North Carolina and South Carolina, on the East Coast of the United States. Although various modern hybrids have been created ...

closes its trap in about 100

millisecond A millisecond (from '' milli-'' and second; symbol: ms) is a unit of time in the International System of Units equal to one thousandth (0.001 or 10−3 or 1/1000) of a second or 1000 microseconds. A millisecond is to one second, as one second i ...

s. The traps of

Utricularia ''Utricularia'', commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species).Salmon, B ...

are much faster, closing in about 0.5 milliseconds. The dogwood bunchberry's

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

opens its

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s and fires

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

in less than 0.5 milliseconds. The record is currently held by the

white mulberry White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

tree, with flower movement taking 25 microseconds, as pollen is catapulted from the stamens at velocities in excess of half the

speed of sound The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elasticity (solid mechanics), elastic medium. More simply, the speed of sound is how fast vibrations travel. At , the speed of sound in a ...

—near the theoretical physical limits for movements in plants.Taylor, P.E., G. Card, J. House, M. H. Dickinson & R.C. Flagan 2006. High-speed pollen release in the white mulberry tree, ''Morus alba'' L.. ''Sexual Plant Reproduction'' 19(1): 19–24. These rapid plant movements differ from the more common, but much slower "growth-movements" of plants, called

tropism In biology, a tropism is a phenomenon indicating the growth or turning movement of an organism, usually a plant, in response to an environmental stimulus (physiology), stimulus. In tropisms, this response is dependent on the direction of the s ...

s. Tropisms encompass movements that lead to physical, permanent alterations of the plant while rapid plant movements are usually reversible or occur over a shorter span of time. A variety of mechanisms are employed by plants in order to achieve these fast movements. Extremely fast movements such as the explosive spore dispersal techniques of ''Sphagnum'' mosses may involve increasing internal pressure via dehydration, causing a sudden propulsion of spores up or through the rapid opening of the "flower" opening triggered by insect pollination. Fast movement can also be demonstrated in predatory plants, where the mechanical stimulation of insect movement creates an electrical

action potential An action potential (also known as a nerve impulse or "spike" when in a neuron) is a series of quick changes in voltage across a cell membrane. An action potential occurs when the membrane potential of a specific Cell (biology), cell rapidly ri ...

and a release of elastic energy within the plant tissues. This release can be seen in the closing of a Venus flytrap, the curling of

sundew ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous ...

leaves, and in the trapdoor action and suction of bladderworts. Slower movement, such as the folding of ''

Mimosa pudica ''Mimosa pudica'' (also called sensitive plant, sleepy grass, sleepy plant, action plant, humble plant, touch-me-not, touch-and-die, or shameplant) is a creeping annual or perennial flowering plant of the pea/legume family Fabaceae. It is often ...

'' leaves, may depend on reversible, but drastic or uneven changes in water pressure in the plant tissues This process is controlled by the fluctuation of ions in and out of the cell, and the osmotic response of water to the ion flux. In 1880

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

published ''

The Power of Movement in Plants ''The Power of Movement in Plants'' is a book by Charles Darwin on phototropism and other types of movement in plants. This book continues his work in producing evidence for his theory of natural selection. As it was one of his last books, fol ...

'', his second-to-last work before his death.

Plants that capture and consume prey

(''Dionaea muscipula'') * Waterwheel plant (''Aldrovanda vesiculosa'') *

Bladderwort ''Utricularia'', commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species).Salmon, Br ...

(''Utricularia'') * Certain varieties of

(''Drosera'')

Plants that move leaves and leaflets

Plants that are able to rapidly move their leaves or their leaflets in response to mechanical stimulation such as touch (

thigmonasty In biology, thigmonasty or seismonasty is the nastic movement, nastic (non-directional) response of a plant or fungus to touch or vibration. Conspicuous examples of thigmonasty include many species in the Fabaceae, leguminous family (biology), su ...

* ''

Aeschynomene ''Aeschynomene'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyly, monophyletic ''Dalbergia'' clade of the Dalbergieae. They are known commonly as jointvetches. They range across tropical ...

'': ** Large leaf sensitive plant (''

Aeschynomene fluitans ''Aeschynomene'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyly, monophyletic ''Dalbergia'' clade of the Dalbergieae. They are known commonly as jointvetches. They range across tropical ...

'') ** '' Aeschynomene americana'' ** '' Aeschynomene deightonii'' * Starfruit ('' Averrhoa carambola'') * ''

Biophytum ''Biophytum'' is a genus of about 50 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Oxalidaceae. It is found in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. The annual ''Biophytum sensitivum'' is a traditional medicine in Nepal. ...

'': ** '' Biophytum abyssinicum'' ** '' Biophytum helenae'' ** '' Biophytum petersianum'' ** '' Biophytum reinwardtii'' ** '' Biophytum sensitivum'' * '' Chamaecrista'': ** Partridge pea ('' Chamaecrista fasciculata'') ** Sensitive partridge pea ('' Chamaecrista nictitans'') ** '' Chamaecrista mimosoides'' L. * ''

Mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 600 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. Species are native to the Americas, from North Dakota to northern Argentina, and to eastern Africa (Tanzania, Mozambique, and ...

'': ** Giant false sensitive plant ('' Mimosa diplotricha'') ** Catclaw brier ('' Mimosa nuttallii'') ** Giant sensitive plant ('' Mimosa pigra'') ** '' Mimosa polyantha'' ** '' Mimosa polycarpa var. spegazzinii'' ** '' Mimosa polydactyla'' ** Sensitive plant (''

'') ** Roemer sensitive briar ('' Mimosa roemeriana'') ** Eastern sensitive plant, sensitive briar ('' Mimosa rupertiana'') ** '' Mimosa uruguensis'' * '' Neptunia'': ** Yellow neptunia (''

Neptunia lutea ''Neptunia lutea'', commonly called the yellow-puff, is an herbaceous plant in the legume family (Fabaceae). It is native to the United States, where it is primarily found in the South Central United States, South Central region, extending eastwa ...

'') ** Sensitive neptunia (''

Neptunia oleracea ''Neptunia oleracea'', commonly known in English as water mimosa or sensitive neptunia, is pantropical nitrogen-fixing perennial legume. Genus and common name come from Neptune, god of the sea, in reference to the aquatic habit of some species i ...

'') ** '' Neptunia plena'' ** '' Neptunia gracili'' * '' Senna alata'' /archive.org/stream/gardensbulletins449unse/gardensbulletins449unse_djvu.txt The Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 49 (1) (1997)/ref> Plants that move their leaves or leaflets at speeds rapid enough to be perceivable with the naked eye: * Telegraph plant ('' Codariocalyx motorius'')

Plants that spread seeds or pollen by rapid movement

* Squirting cucumber (''Ecballium elaterium'') * ''

Cardamine hirsuta ''Cardamine hirsuta'', commonly called hairy bittercress or popping cress, is an annual or biennial species of plant in the family Brassicaceae, and is edible as a salad green. It is common in moist areas around the world. Description Dependi ...

'' and other '' Cardamine spp.'' have seed pods which explode when touched. *

Impatiens ''Impatiens'' is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus ''Hydrocera'' (one species), ''Impatiens'' make up the family (biology), f ...

(''Impatiens'') * Sandbox tree * Triggerplant (all ''Stylidium'' species) * Canadian dwarf cornel (aka dogwood bunchberry, ''Cornus canadensis'') *

White mulberry White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

(''Morus alba'') * Orchids (all genus '' Catasetum'') * Dwarf mistletoe (''Arceuthobium'') *

Witch-hazel Witch-hazels or witch hazels (''Hamamelis'') are a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with three species in North America ('' H. ovalis'', '' H. virginiana'', and '' H. vernalis''), and one each in Japan ('' H.&n ...

(''Hamamelis'') * Some

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

have beans that twist as they dry out, putting tension on the seam, which at some point will split suddenly and violently, flinging the seeds metres from the maternal plant. *

Marantaceae The Marantaceae are a family, the arrowroot family, or the prayer plant family, of flowering plants consisting of 31 genera and around 530 species, defining it as one of the most species-rich families in its order. Kennedy, H. (2000). “Diversif ...

* Minnieroot ('' Ruellia tuberosa'') *

Peyote The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to glisten". p. ...

(''Lophophora williamsii'')

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s move in response to touch /lophophora.blogspot.de/search/label/Thigmotropic%20stamens Lophophora blog: Thigmotropic stamens/ref>

References

{{reflist Plant physiology Plant intelligence

Plants that capture and consume prey

Plants that move leaves and leaflets

Plants that spread seeds or pollen by rapid movement

See also

References