“Why & How Plants Climb”
Day 35 of 366 Day Project
“Magic is everywhere, explore & be amazed everyday!”
Todays wonder and exploration is why and how some plants climb.
Climbing plants normally start by creeping along the floor until they reach a stem. Once they touch something, the physical contact triggers chemical changes that stimulate the climbing behavior and the plant begins to grow against the direction of gravity.
Climbing is a parasitic behavior that saves a plant the effort of making a strong trunk or stems of its own. There are several distinct strategies. Ivy uses specialised roots that work into tiny fissures in tree bark or a wall, while clematis has leafstalks that twist around the stems of another plant to anchor it as it grows. Cucumber plants have tendrils that wrap around another stem and then pull the plant up by coiling up the tendrils.
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