#Know_a_plant_series_03
#Dancing_plant
The world is a mysterious place with a lot of unknown things. This series is to undiscover some of such unknown plants. This time let us put some light on ‘Dancing Plant‘.
People aren’t the only living creatures that love to dance. Believe it or not, there is a plant that also enjoys grooving to the beat.
Codariocalyx motorius (or Desmodium gyrans), also known as the Telegraph plant or semaphore plant, is quite the fascinating plant! It is a tropical Asian shrub that has rapid plant movement—just like the Sensitive Plant and the Venus flytrap.The leaves move up and down rhythmically, as if the plant is dancing or sending out Telegraph message.
And best of all, you don’t need a time lapse camera to see the movements, as the rapid movements are visible to the naked eye. The plant is made up of a set of leaflets-one larger and two smaller leaflets that are connected by a “hinge,” which allows the leaflets to lift and rotate itself.
However, the plant will only “dance” where there is light. Just like a sunflower would turn its head towards the sunlight, the Codariocalyx motorius dances because it wants to absorb the most energy from the sun. Sometimes, the plant will react to the slightest of touch or small vibrations. In the evening or when it is dark, the leaves droop downwards.
In the wild, these dancing plants are commonly in Asian countries such as, Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand. Interestingly, this plant also contains a wide variety of alkaloids that can be used to make pharmaceuticals.
The Telegraph Plant would be a fun houseplant for kids or anyone that amuses easily! And yeah these can be grown at home.
Hope this was useful to you. Next time we will meet you with yet again a different plant! Till then happy farming! Thank you!