Does vegetation move

Answer 1

All plants have some power of movement. It may be as simple as the plant moving because it enlarges as it grows, or tracking the sun as it moves across the sky. But with some carnivorous plants the motion can be extremely fast and impressive. Since plants do not have muscle tissue, how do they do it?

Carnivorous plants use three main movement mechanisms (although scientists still argue about this). The first mechanism is what Venus flytraps use to snap their traps closed. It involves changes in cell sizes by "acid growth." When the trap is activated (by touching trigger hairs on the leaves), the outside surface of the trap becomes larger than the inside wall. This snaps the leaf closed, similar to the way bimetallic strips work in thermostats. The second kind of motion is powered by cell growth---the tentacles of sundews bend towards prey because the cells on one side of the tentacles outgrow the cells on the tentacle's other side. A third kind of effect might involve the transfer of fluids---essentially the plant wilts in certain, controlled directions.

Rapid movement in the plant kingdom is not unique to the carnivores. You are probably familiar with plants such as Mimosa pudica ("sensitive plants" or "TickleMe Plants") that move when you touch them. All it takes is a soft touch for these to fold their leaves and collapse pathetically towards the ground. (The common name for them in Hawai'i translates to "shame!") This movement is called thigmonasty as it is induced by touch. You can find additional information athttp://www.sensitiveplant.com

Incidentally, not all carnivorous plants have rapidly moving parts. Many (for example the pitcher plants) capture prey by having leaves in the form of very clever containers that creatures crawl into but cannot escape. These plants have no moving parts!

So you see, even though carnivorous plants are truly amazing, they are not creatures from another planet! They are plants that have developed extraordinary habits to survive. Fascinating, intriguing, and exciting, but in the end they are still plants.

Answer 2

Vegetation itself does not move as it is rooted in the ground. However, some plants have parts that move in response to environmental cues, such as the opening and closing of flowers or the bending of leaves towards sunlight. Overall, the movement in vegetation is typically slow and subtle compared to animals.