Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-06-02
Curious Flowers.

There are several plants, especially thost
with compound yellow flowers, which nod,
and during the whole day turn their flowers
toward the sun. Such flowers are desig-
mated as ''heliotropes, and the movement
which they thus exhibit is called their
mutation" This is particularly observa-
bic in the common SOW thistle, and is q
well known fact that great par. of the
plants in a serene sky expand their flowers,
but before rain they shut them up, as the
tulip. for instance. The flowers of chick
wintergreen droop in the night, lest rain or
moisture should injure the fertilizing pol
len. One species of wood sorrel shuts up
or doubles its leaves before storms and tenn
pests, but in serene sky expands or I'M
folds them, so that husbandmen can fore
tell tempes.s from it. 1t is also well known
that the sensitive plants and other species
of Cassia observe the same rule. The
flowers of the bindwcod, the wood ane-
none, and the common daisy, even if al
ready open. will shut on the approach
of rain. The last named flower appears
to have derived its name-day's eye-from
its sensitiyeness of light. Such phenomena
as these are probably determined by the
action of light and the flowers of such
plants being shut at ten or eleven o'clock
in the morning tell of clouds and gloom,
and so predict rain. Besides affording
prognostics, many plants also fold them
selves up at particular hours, with such
regularity as to have acquired particular
names from this property. Linneus has
enumerated forty-six flowers which possess
the kind of sensibility. From an arrange
ment of such flowers it has been ingeniously
proposed to form a floral tinepiece. The
flowers of the goats beard open in the morn
ing at the approach of the sun, and regard
less of the weather, shut about noon. and
hence its common name of ''go-to-bed-a at
noon" The Star of Bethlehem expands its
flowers about eleven, and closes them at
three in the afternoon. The evening prim-
rose is well known from is remarkable pro-
perties of regularly shutting with loud
popping noise about sunrise and opening at
sunset. After six o'clock, these flowers
regularly report the approach of night.
The flowers of the garden lettuce open at
seven O'Clock and shut at ten. That light
is the chief agent of these changes seems
to be proved by the experiments of De
Candolle, made at the Jardin des Plantes,
in an underground cellar, Illuminated by
lamps giving light equal to flfty-four or
dinary wax candles. By lighting these he
could cause the flowers of the Star of Beth
lehem TO open at pleasure, and also those
of the camomile, which keeps its flowers
closely shut during the night; but he could
produce no artificial effect with the strong
est light upon several species of wood sor-
raj, whose flowers and leaves are both
folded up at night. With the sensitive
plant he succeeded in so completely chang
ing the hour of closure that on the third
day from being placed in the lighted cellar
it began to fold its leaves in the morning
and open them in the evening. One OF the
most singular cases of the action of light
on plants is that of the Lotus of the Eu-
pirates, as described by Theophrastus, and
which he represents as rearing and expand
ing its blossom by day, closing and sinking
beneath the surface of the water by night,
so as to be beyond the grasp of the hand,
and again rising up in the morning to pre-
sent its EXPANDED blossom to the sun. The
same phenomenon is also related by Pliny.