chinese Desmodium gyrans seeds china CODARIOCALYX MOTORIUS seed DANCING TREE

LATIN NAME: Codariocalyx motorius

COMMON NAME: Telegraph Plant, Dancing Plant, Semaphore Plant

The telegraph plant is one of the most remarkable plants in the world, and its little side leaves dance and move as if they were alive. It grows as a small, tropical Asian shrub of the pea family, reaching up to a metre and a half, with compound leaves, each bearing a pair of small, oval side leaflets, and these side leaflets are the plant’s wonder, for they move up and down in a steady, pulsing dance, even in still air, as if signalling like a telegraph, while the main leaves stay still. It is one of the few plants capable of such rapid movement, along with the sensitive plant, the venus flytrap and a few others, and it is native to the tropical regions of Asia.

The telegraph plant belongs to the pea family, Fabaceae, and it is a tropical Asian shrub, one of the few plants capable of rapid movement. It is known as the telegraph plant, dancing plant or semaphore plant, because of the rapid, pulsing movement of its small side leaflets.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The telegraph plant has a genuine and distinguished place in plant science research. It has been studied extensively in plant physiology, since it is one of the few plants capable of rapid, visible movement, and researchers have examined the mechanism of its famous leaf dance, studying the role of the motor cells, the water pressure and the ion movements that drive the pulsing of the side leaflets, which has made it a classic subject in the study of plant movement and of the physiology of the leaf, while the function of the movement, which may help the plant to catch light, has also been debated and studied. The plant has also been studied in botany, since it is a member of the pea family, and its classification and its relationships have been examined, while its remarkable movement has made it of interest to the wider world of science and to the garden. The species has also been studied in horticulture, since it is grown as a curiosity. For a plant of such strange and fascinating movement, the telegraph plant has a rich and distinguished record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, the telegraph plant is a remarkable plant of the tropical forest edge. Its flowers feed insects, and its moving leaves, which may help it catch the shifting light of the forest, are among the wonders of the plant world, while it is a native member of the tropical Asian landscape.

Its economic value lies mainly in horticulture and in science. It is grown as a fascinating curiosity in tropical and warm gardens and in greenhouses, prized for its dancing leaves, and it has a real value in science as one of the classic plants for the study of plant movement. For a grower, the telegraph plant is a fascinating plant for a warm, bright spot, and for a gardener it brings the wonder of a plant that dances. The seeds are easy — nick them lightly, then sow them in a pot of warm, free-draining compost, keep them in a warm, bright spot and water them gently, and they’ll sprout within a couple of weeks, growing on into a shrub with leaves that move.

Desmodium gyrans is well known as the “Telegraph Plant” and famous for its movement. The small lateral leaflets will rotate on their axis, moving in jerky motions under the slightest influence of touch, sunshine, warmth or small vibrations. At night they droop downwards.Mimosa pudica, the 'sensitive plant', is a source of fascination to adults and children alike. When touched, the narrow fern-like leaflets they almost instantaneously fold together and the leaf stalk droops. This sometimes sets off a chain reaction, with several leaf stalks falling on top of one another.The plant will gradually returns to normal, taking up to about half an hour. This touch-induced movement of leaves is known scientifically as thigmonasty, and is thought to be a defensive mechanism against grazers. At
night, the leaves will also fold and bend in movements known as nyctonastic movements (reaction to absence of light).

see DANCING TREE OR CODARIOCALYX MOTORIUS PLANT