Quirky Plants

I am collecting plants with unusual mechanical elements. Please add a comment to this blog with your ideas. it would help me a lot! Thanks!



Charles Darwin called the Venus Flytrap"Researchers have found tensile strength is behind the plant's speedy clampdown on a hapless insect. Once trigger hairs are tripped by the prey, the plant bends its rubbery leaves into a convex shape, like a tennis ball or soft contact lens that has been flipped inside-out. The leaves instantly turn to a concave, as if the tennis ball is popped back to normal. The edges come together, trapping the insect inside. - Engineers hope to someday mimic the flytrap's ability in order to move tiny artificial devices that depend on minute movements of liquids or gases". Source



"The leaves of Mimosa have the capability to display thigmonasty (touch-induced movement). In the sensitive plant, the leaves respond to being touched, shaken, heated or rapidly cooled. The speed of the response depends on the magnitude of the stimulus. Hitting the leaf hard with the flick of a finger will cause the leaf to close in the blink of an eye whereas a gentle touch or modest heat source applied to leaflets at the tip of a leaf will result in a slower response and the propagation of the stimulus along the leaf can be observed." (text from linked site) Watch Mimosa Clip



"Insects are attracted to the colorful leaf rosettes of the Pitcher Plant that resemble flowers; the red lip of the "pitcher" is particularly attractive as a landing zone. Red veins that lead downward are baited with nectar. Following this lure, prey reach the curve of the tube, which is lined with fine hairs, all pointing downward. The animal falls into the pitcher, which contains rain, dew, and a digestive enzyme that soon dissolves the victim. The leaves are modified into pitchers. The inner surface is covered with downward-pointing hairs, which make it difficult for insects to escape." Source



"Ferns are one of the earliest types of plants in existence, dating back to before dinosaurs roamed the earth. The Victorians were fanatical about these quirky plants. They built special greenhouses, called ferneries, to collect them in, and the Pteridomania was invented to describe this hobby." - I was inspired by the shape of the leaf and the round flowers, creating this really interesting configuration. Source