Species
The most spectacular display of thigmonasty occurs in the Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). When an insect lands on a trap formed by two curved lobes of a single leaf, the trap rapidly switches from an open to a closed configuration. Investigators have observed an action potential and changes in leaf turgor that accompany the reflex, which is due to the rapid elongation of individual cells, commonly termed acid growth although it does not involve cell division.
Mimosa pudica is a plant with compound leaves that has attracted detailed investigation. It appears that contact or injury causes leaflet deformation that in turn triggers an action potential. The action potential travels through the plant until it reaches a pulvinus at the base of the leaflet or petiole.
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Famous quotes containing the word species:
“Heaven and hell suppose two distinct species of men, the good and the bad. But the greatest part of mankind float betwixt vice and virtue.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)
“Let us guard against saying that death is opposed to life. The living is merely a species of the dead, and a very rare species.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
““If Steam has done nothing else, it has at least added a whole new Species to English Literature ... the booklets—the little thrilling romances, where the Murder comes at page fifteen, and the Wedding at page forty—surely they are due to Steam?”
“And when we travel by electricity—if I may venture to develop your theory—we shall have leaflets instead of booklets, and the Murder and the Wedding will come on the same page.””
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)