You're almost certainly familiar with plants that have the ability to move very quickly. The most famous example is the Venus Flytrap, which can close its trap in a fraction of a second.
The most amazing one, though, is probably the Telegraph Plant. It moves much slower, but fast enough to see with the naked eye. What's amazing, however, is how and why it moves.
Each large leaf is on a, well, essentially a motor, which allows the leaf to turn toward the sunlight to maximize how much light it gets. Moving such a large leaf requires a lot of energy, however. So this plant has two tiny leaves at the base of every large leaf. These leaves are moving constantly, and when they find the best direction to face to receive the most light, they someone communicate this to the larger leaf, which then moves to match their angle.
Incredible stuff.
This video is in real time, although low quality.
The most amazing one, though, is probably the Telegraph Plant. It moves much slower, but fast enough to see with the naked eye. What's amazing, however, is how and why it moves.
Each large leaf is on a, well, essentially a motor, which allows the leaf to turn toward the sunlight to maximize how much light it gets. Moving such a large leaf requires a lot of energy, however. So this plant has two tiny leaves at the base of every large leaf. These leaves are moving constantly, and when they find the best direction to face to receive the most light, they someone communicate this to the larger leaf, which then moves to match their angle.
Incredible stuff.
This video is in real time, although low quality.
