View source for Rapid plant movement

[[File:Venus_Flytrap_showing_trigger_hairs.jpg|thumb|The [[Venus Flytrap]] is one of a small group of plants that are capable of rapid movement]]
[[File:Mimosa Pudica.gif|thumb|''Mimosa pudica'' folding leaflets inward]]

'''Rapid plant movement''' means quick movement of plant structures, usually under a second. 

For example, the [[Venus Flytrap]] closes its trap in about 100 [[millisecond]]s.<ref>Forterre Y. ''et al'' 2005. {{PDFlink|[http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/dumais/Publications/Nature2005.pdf How the Venus flytrap snaps.]|318&nbsp;KB}} ''Nature'' '''433''': 421–425. {{doi|10.1038/nature03185}}</ref> Some other [[carnivorous plants]], such as the [[bladderworts]], also have a rapid response to insects.

The Dogwood Bunchberry, ''[[Cornus canadensis]]'', has a [[flower]] which opens its [[petal]]s and fires [[pollen]] in less than 0.5 milliseconds. The record is currently held by the [[White Mulberry]] tree, ''Morus alba'', whose leaves are used to cultivate [[silkworm]]s. It is also notable for the rapid release of its [[pollen]], which is launched at over half the speed of sound. The stamens act as catapults, releasing stored elastic energy in just 25 µs. "This is the fastest motion yet observed in biology, and approaches the theoretical physical limits for movements in plants".<ref name=mulberry>Taylor P.E. ''et al'' 2006. High-speed pollen release in the white mulberry tree, ''Morus alba'' L.. ''Sexual Plant Reproduction'' '''19'''(1): 19–24. {{doi|10.1007/s00497-005-0018-9}}</ref>

The very widespread [[genus]] ''[[Impatiens]]'' gets its common name, "[[touch-me-not]]", from its seed capsules. When the capsules mature, they "explode" when touched, shooting seeds several metres away.
A comparatively slow-moving  plant is ''[[Mimosa pudica]]'', which closes its leaflets in a graceful sequence.

These rapid plant movements contrast with the more common, and much slower "growth-movements" of plants. They are called ''[[tropism]]s''. 

[[Charles Darwin]] in 1880 published his last work before his death, ''The Power of Movement in Plants''.

== Related pages ==
*[[Charles Darwin's books]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:Rapid plant movement| ]]
[[Category:Flowering plants]]