The Power of Movement in Plants Part 24

Gossypium herbaceum.--It is remarkable that the cotyledons of this species behave differently from those of the last. They were observed during 6 weeks from their first development until they had grown to a very large size (still appearing fresh and green), viz. 2 inches in breadth. At this age a true leaf had been formed, which with its petiole was 2 inches long.

During the whole of these 6 weeks the cotyledons did not sink at night; yet when old their weight was considerable and they were borne by much elongated petioles. Seedlings raised from some seed sent us from Naples, behaved in the same manner; as did those of a kind cultivated in Alabama and of the Sea-island cotton. To what species these three latter forms belong we do not know. We could not make out in the case of the Naples cotton, that the position of the cotyledons at night was influenced by the soil being more or less dry; care being taken that they were not rendered flaccid by being too dry. The weight of the large cotyledons of the Alabama and Sea-island kinds caused them to hang somewhat downwards, when the pots in which they grew were left for a time upside down. It should, however, be observed that these three kinds were raised in the middle of the winter, which sometimes greatly interferes with the proper nyct.i.tropic movements of leaves and cotyledons.

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Cucurbitaceae.--The cotyledons of Cucurbita aurantia and ovifera, and of Lagenaria vulgaris, stand from the 1st to the 3rd day of their life at about 60o above the horizon, and at night rise up so as to become vertical and in close contact with one another. With Cuc.u.mis dudaim they stood at noon at 45o above the horizon, and closed at night. The tips of the cotyledons of all these species are, however, reflexed, so that this part is fully exposed to the zenith at night; and this fact is opposed to the belief that the movement is of the same nature as that of sleeping plants.

After the first two or three days the cotyledons diverge more during the day and cease to close at night. Those of Trichosanthes anguina are somewhat thick and fleshy, and did not rise at night; and they could perhaps hardly be expected to do so. On the other hand, those of Acanthosicyos horrida* present nothing in their appearance opposed to their moving at night in the same manner as the preceding species; yet they did not rise up in any plain manner. This fact leads to the belief that the nocturnal movements of the above-named species has been acquired for some special purpose, which may be to protect the young plumule from radiation, by the close contact of the whole basal portion of the two cotyledons.

Geranium rotundifolium (Geraniaceae).--A single seedling came up accidentally in a pot, and its cotyledons were observed to bend perpendicularly downwards during several successive nights, having been horizontal at noon. It grew into a fine plant but died before flowering: it was sent to Kew and p.r.o.nounced to be certainly a Geranium, and in all probability the above-named species. This case is remarkable because the cotyledons of G. cinereum, Endressii, Iberic.u.m, Richardsoni, and subcaulescens were observed during some weeks in the winter, and they did not sink, whilst those of G. Iberic.u.m rose 27o at night.

Apium petroselinum (Umbelliferae).--A seedling had its cotyledons (Nov.

22nd) almost fully expanded during the day; by 8.30 P.M. they had risen considerably, and at 10.30 P.M. were almost closed, their tips being only 8/100 of an inch apart. On the following morning (23rd) the tips were 58/100 of an inch apart,

* This plant, from Dammara Land in S. Africa, is remarkable from being the one known member of the Family which is not a climber; it has been described in 'Transact. Linn. Soc.,' xxvii. p. 30.

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or more than seven times as much. On the next night the cotyledons occupied nearly the same position as before. On the morning of the 24th they stood horizontally, and at night were 60o above the horizon; and so it was on the night of the 25th. But four days afterwards (on the 29th), when the seedlings were a week old, the cotyledons had ceased to rise at night to any plain degree.

Apium graveolens.--The cotyledons at noon were horizontal, and at 10 P.M.

stood at an angle of 61o above the horizon.

Lactuca scariola (Compositae).--The cotyledons whilst young stood sub-horizontally during the day, and at night rose so as to be almost vertical, and some were quite vertical and closed; but this movement ceased when they had grown old and large, after an interval of 11 days.

Helianthus annuus (Compositae).--This case is rather doubtful; the cotyledons rise at night, and on one occasion they stood at 73o above the horizon, so that they might then be said to have been asleep.

Ipomoea caerulea vel Pharbitis nil (Convolvulaceae).--The cotyledons behave in nearly the same manner as those of the Anoda and Nankin cotton, and like them grow to a large size. Whilst young and small, so that their blades were from .5 to .6 of an inch in length, measured along the middle to the base of the central notch, they remained horizontal both during the middle of the day and at night. As they increased in size they began to sink more and more in the evening and early night; and when they had grown to a length (measured in the above manner) of from 1 to 1.25 inch, they sank between 55o and 70o beneath the horizon. They acted, however, in this manner only when they had been well illuminated during the day.

Nevertheless, the cotyledons have little or no power of bending towards a lateral light, although the hypocotyl is strongly heliotropic. They are not provided with a pulvinus, but continue to grow for a long time.

Ipomoea purpurea (vel Pharbitis hispida).--The cotyledons behave in all respects like those of I. caerulea. A seedling with cotyledons .75 inch in length (measured as before) and 1.65 inch in breadth, having a small true leaf developed, was placed at 5.30 P.M. on a klinostat in a darkened box, so that neither weight nor geotropism could act on them. At 10 P.M. one cotyledon stood at 77o and the other at 82o beneath the horizon. Before being placed in the klinostat they stood at 15o and 29o [page 306]

beneath the horizon. The nocturnal position depends chiefly on the curvature of the petiole close to the blade, but the whole petiole becomes slightly curved downwards. It deserves notice that seedlings of this and the last-named species were raised at the end of February and another lot in the middle of March, and the cotyledons in neither case exhibited any nyct.i.tropic movement.

Ipomoea bona-nox.--The cotyledons after a few days grow to an enormous size, those on a young seedling being 3 1/4 inches in breadth. They were extended horizontally at noon, and at 10 P.M. stood at 63o beneath the horizon. five days afterwards they were 4 inches in breadth, and at night one stood at 64o and the other 48o beneath the horizon. Though the blades are thin, yet from their great size and from the petioles being long, we imagined that their depression at night might be determined by their weight; but when the pot was laid horizontally, they became curved towards the hypocotyl, which movement could not have been in the least aided by their weight, at the same time they were somewhat twisted upwards through apogeotropism. Nevertheless, the weight of the cotyledons is so far influential, that when on another night the pot was turned upside down, they were unable to rise and thus to a.s.sume their proper nocturnal position.

Ipomoea coccinea.--The cotyledons whilst young do not sink at night, but when grown a little older, but still only .4 inch in length (measured as before) and .82 in breadth, they became greatly depressed. In one case they were horizontal at noon, and at 10 P.M. one of them stood at 64o and the other at 47o beneath the horizon. The blades are thin, and the petioles, which become much curved down at night, are short, so that here weight can hardly have produced any effect. With all the above species of Ipomoea, when the two cotyledons on the same seedling were unequally depressed at night, this seemed to depend on the position which they had held during the day with reference to the light.

Solanum lycopersic.u.m (Solaneae).--The cotyledons rise so much at night as to come nearly in contact. Those of 'S. palinacanthum' were horizontal at noon, and by 10 P.M. had risen only 27o 30 minutes; but on the following morning before it was light they stood at 59o above the horizon, and in the afternoon of the same day were again horizontal. The behaviour of the cotyledons of this latter species seems, therefore, to be anomalous.

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Mirabilis jalapa and longiflora (Nyctagineae).--The cotyledons, which are of unequal size, stand horizontally during the middle of the day, and at night rise up vertically and come into close contact with one another. But this movement with M. longiflora lasted for only the three first nights.

Beta vulgaris (Polygoneae).--A large number of seedlings were observed on three occasions. During the day the cotyledons sometimes stood sub-horizontally, but more commonly at an angle of about 50o above the horizon, and for the first two or three nights they rose up vertically so as to be completely closed. During the succeeding one or two nights they rose only a little, and afterwards hardly at all.

Amaranthus caudatus (Amaranthaceae).--At noon the cotyledons of many seedlings, which had just germinated, stood at about 45o above the horizon, and at 10.15 P.M. some were nearly and the others quite closed. On the following morning they were again well expanded or open.

Cannabis sativa (Cannabineae).--We are very doubtful whether this plant ought to be here included. The cotyledons of a large number of seedlings, after being well illuminated during the day, were curved downwards at night, so that the tips of some pointed directly to the ground, but the basal part did not appear to be at all depressed. On the following morning they were again flat and horizontal. the cotyledons of many other seedlings were at the same time not in any way affected. Therefore this case seems very different from that of ordinary sleep, and probably comes under the head of epinasty, as is the case with the leaves of this plant according to Kraus. The cotyledons are heliotropic, and so is the hypocotyl in a still stronger degree.

Oxalis.--We now come to cotyledons provided with a pulvinus, all of which are remarkable from the continuance of the nocturnal movements during several days or even weeks, and apparently after growth has ceased. The cotyledons of O. rosea, floribunda and articulata sink vertically down at night and clasp the upper part of the hypocotyl. Those of O. Valdiviana and sensitiva, on the contrary, rise vertically up, so that their upper surfaces come into close contact; and after the young leaves are developed these are clasped by the cotyledons. As in the daytime they stand horizontally, or are even a little deflected beneath the horizon, they move in the evening through an angle of at least 90o. Their complicated circ.u.mnutating movements during the day have [page 308]

been described in the first chapter. The experiment was a superfluous one, but pots with seedlings of O. rosea and floribunda were turned upside down, as soon as the cotyledons began to show any signs of sleep, and this made no difference in their movements.

Leguminosae.--It may be seen in our list that the cotyledons of several species in nine genera, widely distributed throughout the Family, sleep at night; and this probably is the case with many others. The cotyledons of all these species are provided with a pulvinus; and the movement in all is continued during many days or weeks. In Ca.s.sia the cotyledons of the ten species in the list rise up vertically at night and come into close contact with one another. We observed that those of C. florida opened in the morning rather later than those of C. glauca and p.u.b.escens. The movement is exactly the same in C. mimosoides as in the other species, though its subsequently developed leaves sleep in a different manner. The cotyledons of an eleventh species, namely, C. nodosa, are thick and fleshy, and do not rise up at night. The circ.u.mnutation of the cotyledons during the day of C.

tora has been described in the first chapter. Although the cotyledons of Smithia sensitiva rose from a horizontal position in the middle of the day to a vertical one at night, those of S. Pfundii, which are thick and fleshy, did not sleep. When Mimosa pudica and albida have been kept at a sufficiently high temperature during the day, the cotyledons come into close contact at night; otherwise they merely rise up almost vertically.

The circ.u.mnutation of those of M. pudica has been described. The cotyledons of a Bauhinia from St. Catharina in Brazil stood during the day at an angle of about 50o above the horizon, and at night rose to 77o; but it is probable that they would have closed completely, if the seedlings had been kept in a warmer place.

Lotus.--In three species of Lotus the cotyledons were observed to sleep.

Those of L. Jacoboeus present the singular case of not rising at night in any conspicuous manner for the first 5 or 6 days of their life, and the pulvinus is not well developed at this period. Afterwards the sleeping movement is well displayed, though to a variable degree, and is long continued. We shall hereafter meet with a nearly parallel case with the leaves of Sida rhombifolia. The cotyledons of L. Gebelii are only slightly raised at night, and differ much in this respect from the three species in our list.

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Trifolium.--The germination of 21 species was observed. In most of them the cotyledons rise hardly at all, or only slightly, at night; but those of T.

glomeratum, striatum and incarnactum rose from 45o to 55o above the horizon. With T. subterraneum, leucanthemum and strictum, they stood up vertically; and with T. strictum the rising movement is accompanied, as we shall see, by another movement, which makes us believe that the rising is truly nyct.i.tropic. We did not carefully examine the cotyledons of all the species for a pulvinus, but this organ was distinctly present in those of T. subterraneum and strictum; whilst there was no trace of a pulvinus in some species, for instance, in T. resupinatum, the cotyledons of which do not rise at night.

Trifolium subterraneum.--The blades of the cotyledons on the first day after germination (Nov. 21st) were not fully expanded, being inclined at about 35o above the horizon; at night they rose to about 75o. Two days afterwards the blades at noon were horizontal, with the petioles highly inclined upwards; and it is remarkable that the nocturnal movement is almost wholly confined to the blades, being effected by the pulvinus at their bases; whilst the petioles retain day and night nearly the same inclination. On this night (Nov. 23rd), and for some few succeeding nights, the blades rose from a horizontal into a vertical position, and then became bowed inwards at about an average angle of 10o; so that they had pa.s.sed through an angle of 100o. Their tips now almost touched one another, their bases being slightly divergent. The two blades thus formed a highly inclined roof over the axis of the seedling. This movement is the same as that of the terminal leaflet of the tripart.i.te leaves of many species of Trifolium. After an interval of 8 days (Nov. 29th) the blades were horizontal during the day, and vertical at night, and now they were no longer bowed inwards. They continued to move in the same manner for the following two months, by which time they had increased greatly in size, their petioles being no less than .8 of an inch in length, and two true leaves had by this time been developed.

Trifolium strictum.--On the first day after germination the cotyledons, which are provided with a pulvinus, stood at noon horizontally, and at night rose to only about 45o above the horizon. Four days afterwards the seedlings were again observed at night, and now the blades stood vertically and were in contact, excepting the tips, which were much deflexed, so that they faced the zenith. At this age the petioles are curved [page 310]

upwards, and at night, when the bases of the blades are in contact, the two petioles together form a vertical ring surrounding the plumule. The cotyledons continued to act in nearly the same manner for 8 or 10 days from the period of germination; but the petioles had by this time become straight and had increased much in length. After from 12 to 14 days the first simple true leaf was formed, and during the ensuing fortnight a remarkable movement was repeatedly observed. At I. (Fig. 125) we have a sketch, made in the middle of the day, of a seedling about a fortnight old.

The two cotyledons, of which Rc is the right and Lc the left one, stand directly opposite one another,

Fig. 125. Trifolium strictum: diurnal and nocturnal positions of the two cotyledons and of the first leaf. I. Seedling viewed obliquely from above, during the day: Rc, right cotyledon; Lc, left cotyledon; F, first true leaf. II. A rather younger seedling, viewed at night: Rc, right cotyledon raised, but its position not otherwise changed; Lc, left cotyledon raised and laterally twisted; F, first leaf raised and twisted so as to face the left twisted cotyledon. III. Same seedling viewed at night from the opposite side. The back of the first leaf, F, is here shown instead of the front, as in II.

and the first true leaf (F) projects at right angles to them. At night (see II. and III.) the right cotyledon (Rc) is greatly raised, but is not otherwise changed in position. The left cotyledon (Lc) is likewise raised, but it is also twisted so that its blade, instead of exactly facing the opposite one, now stands at nearly right angles to it. This nocturnal twisting movement is effected not by means of the pulvinus, but by the twisting of the whole length of the petiole, as could be seen by the curved line of its upper concave surface. At the same time the true leaf (F) rises up, so as to stand vertically, or it even pa.s.ses the vertical and is inclined a little inwards. It also twists a little, by which means the upper surface of its blade fronts, and almost comes into contact with, the upper surface of the twisted [page 311]

left cotyledon. This seems to be the object gained by these singular movements. Altogether 20 seedlings were examined on successive nights, and in 19 of them it was the left cotyledon alone which became twisted, with the true leaf always so twisted that its upper surface approached closely and fronted that of the left cotyledon. In only one instance was the right cotyledon twisted, with the true leaf twisted towards it; but this seedling was in an abnormal condition, as the left cotyledon did not rise up properly at night. This whole case is remarkable, as with the cotyledons of no other plant have we seen any nocturnal movement except vertically upwards or downwards. It is the more remarkable, because we shall meet with an a.n.a.logous case in the leaves of the allied genus Melilotus, in which the terminal leaflet rotates at night so as to present one edge to the zenith and at the same time bends to one side, so that its upper surface comes into contact with that of one of the two now vertical lateral leaflets.]

Concluding Remarks on the Nyct.i.tropic Movements of Cotyledons.--The sleep of cotyledons (though this is a subject which has been little attended to), seems to be a more common phenomenon than that of leaves. We observed the position of the cotyledons during the day and night in 153 genera, widely distributed throughout the dicotyledonous series, but otherwise selected almost by hazard; and one or more species in 26 of these genera placed their cotyledons at night so as to stand vertically or almost vertically, having generally moved through an angle of at least 60o. If we lay on one side the Leguminosae, the cotyledons of which are particularly liable to sleep, 140 genera remain; and out of these, the cotyledons of at least one species in 19 genera slept. Now if we were to select by hazard 140 genera, excluding the Leguminosae, and observed their leaves at night, a.s.suredly not nearly so many as 19 would be found to include sleeping species. We here refer exclusively to the plants observed by ourselves.

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In our entire list of seedlings, there are 30 genera, belonging to 16 Families, the cotyledons of which in some of the species rise or sink in the evening or early night, so as to stand at least 60o above or beneath the horizon. In a large majority of the genera, namely, 24, the movement is a rising one; so that the same direction prevails in these nyct.i.tropic movements as in the lesser periodic ones described in the second chapter.

The cotyledons move downwards during the early part of the night in only 6 of the genera; and in one of them, Cannabis, the curving down of the tip is probably due to epinasty, as Kraus believes to be the case with the leaves.

The downward movement to the amount of 90o is very decided in Oxalis Valdiviana and sensitiva, and in Geranium rotundifolium. It is a remarkable fact that with Anoda Wrightii, one species of Gossypium and at least 3 species of Ipomoea, the cotyledons whilst young and light sink at night very little or not at all; although this movement becomes well p.r.o.nounced as soon as they have grown large and heavy. Although the downward movement cannot be attributed to the weight of the cotyledons in the several cases which were investigated, namely, in those of the Anoda, Ipomoea purpurea and bona-nox, nor in that of I. coccinea, yet bearing in mind that cotyledons are continually circ.u.mnutating, a slight cause might at first have determined whether the great nocturnal movement should be upwards or downwards. We may therefore suspect that in some aboriginal member of the groups in question, the weight of the cotyledons first determined the downward direction. The fact of the cotyledons of these species not sinking down much whilst they are young and tender, seems opposed to the belief that the greater movement when they are [page 313]

grown older, has been acquired for the sake of protecting them from radiation at night; but then we should remember that there are many plants, the leaves of which sleep, whilst the cotyledons do not; and if in some cases the leaves are protected from cold at night whilst the cotyledons are not protected, so in other cases it may be of more importance to the species that the nearly full-grown cotyledons should be better protected than the young ones.

In all the species of Oxalis observed by us, the cotyledons are provided with pulvini; but this organ has become more or less rudimentary in O.

corniculata, and the amount of upward movement of its cotyledons at night is very variable, but is never enough to be called sleep. We omitted to ascertain whether the cotyledons of Geranium rotundifolium possess pulvini.

In the Leguminosae all the cotyledons which sleep, as far as we have seen, are provided with pulvini. But with Lotus Jacobaeus, these are not fully developed during the first few days of the life of the seedling, and the cotyledons do not then rise much at night. With Trifolium strictum the blades of the cotyledons rise at night by the aid of their pulvini; whilst the petiole of one cotyledon twists half-round at the same time, independently of its pulvinus.

As a general rule, cotyledons which are provided with pulvini continue to rise or sink at night during a much longer period than those dest.i.tute of this organ. In this latter case the movement no doubt depends on alternately greater growth on the upper and lower side of the petiole, or of the blade, or of both, preceded probably by the increased turgescence of the growing cells. Such movements generally last for a very short period-- for instance, with Bra.s.sica and Githago for 4 or 5 nights, with Beta for 2 or 3, and with [page 314]

Rapha.n.u.s for only a single night. There are, however, some strong exceptions to this rule, as the cotyledons of Gossypium, Anoda and Ipomoea do not possess pulvini, yet continue to move and to grow for a long time.

We thought at first that when the movement lasted for only 2 or 3 nights, it could hardly be of any service to the plant, and hardly deserved to be called sleep; but as many quickly-growing leaves sleep for only a few nights, and as cotyledons are rapidly developed and soon complete their growth, this doubt now seems to us not well-founded, more especially as these movements are in many instances so strongly p.r.o.nounced. We may here mention another point of similarity between sleeping leaves and cotyledons, namely, that some of the latter (for instance, those of Ca.s.sia and Githago) are easily affected by the absence of light; and they then either close, or if closed do not open; whereas others (as with the cotyledons of Oxalis) are very little affected by light. In the next chapter it will be shown that the nyct.i.tropic movements both of cotyledons and leaves consist of a modified form of circ.u.mnutation.

As in the Leguminosae and Oxalidae, the leaves and the cotyledons of the same species generally sleep, the idea at first naturally occurred to us, that the sleep of the cotyledons was merely an early development of a habit proper to a more advanced stage of life. But no such explanation can be admitted, although there seems to be some connection, as might have been expected, between the two sets of cases. For the leaves of many plants sleep, whilst their cotyledons do not do so--of which fact Desmodium gyrans offers a good instance, as likewise do three species of Nicotiana observed by us; also Sida rhombifolia, Abutilon Darwinii, and Chenopodium alb.u.m. On the other [page 315]

hand, the cotyledons of some plants sleep and not the leaves, as with the species of Beta, Bra.s.sica, Geranium, Apium, Solanum, and Mirabilis, named in our list. Still more striking is the fact that, in the same genus, the leaves of several or of all the species may sleep, but the cotyledons of only some of them, as occurs with Trifolium, Lotus, Gossypium, and partially with Oxalis. Again, when both the cotyledons and the leaves of the same plant sleep, their movements may be of a widely dissimilar nature: thus with Ca.s.sia the cotyledons rise vertically up at night, whilst their leaves sink down and twist round so as to turn their lower surfaces outwards. With seedlings of Oxalis Valdiviana, having 2 or 3 well-developed leaves, it was a curious spectacle to behold at night each leaflet folded inwards and hanging perpendicularly downwards, whilst at the same time and on the same plant the cotyledons stood vertically upwards.

These several facts, showing the independence of the nocturnal movements of the leaves and cotyledons on the same plant, and on plants belonging to the same genus, lead to the belief that the cotyledons have acquired their power of movement for some special purpose. Other facts lead to the same conclusion, such as the presence of pulvini, by the aid of which the nocturnal movement is continued during some weeks. In Oxalis the cotyledons of some species move vertically upwards, and of others vertically downwards at night; but this great difference within the same natural genus is not so surprising as it may at first appear, seeing that the cotyledons of all the species are continually oscillating up and down during the day, so that a small cause might determine whether they should rise or sink at night.

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ledon of Trifolium strictum, in combination with that of the first true leaf. Lastly, the wide distribution in the dicotyledonous series of plants with cotyledons which sleep. Reflecting on these several facts, our conclusion seems justified, that the nyct.i.tropic movements of cotyledons, by which the blade is made to stand either vertically or almost vertically upwards or downwards at night, has been acquired, at least in most cases, for some special purpose; nor can we doubt that this purpose is the protection of the upper surface of the blade, and perhaps of the central bud or plumule, from radiation at night.

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CHAPTER VII.

MODIFIED CIRc.u.mNUTATION: NYCt.i.tROPIC OR SLEEP MOVEMENTS OF LEAVES.