Oddity Ark #5 (185) Waterwheel Plant

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Plants are perhaps far more aggressive and sinister than the animals that feed on the. In the ‘Origin of Species, Charles Darwin stated that nature is ‘red in tooth and claw’, but perhaps it would be more accurate to say it’s ‘green in lead and stem’. Among one of the most aggressive of these plants is the waterwheel plant a species that is capable of moving at incredibly high speeds.

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Oddity Ark #5 (#185)

[1]
[1]

Kingdom: Plantae

[Clade]: Tracheophytes

[Clade]: Angiosperms

Order: Caryophyllales

Family: Droseraceae

Genus: Aldrovanda

Species:vesiculosa (1)

Related Species: The waterwheel plant is the only extant member of the genus Aldrovanda.

Range: Waterwheel plants are located in slightly acidic water bodies across fifty sites in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.

IUCN Status: The waterwheel plant is currently classified as being ‘Endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Split Second Snap

Waterwheel plants is an aquatic species of plant that has stems that grow to a length of up to 40cm. The species of plant is rootless and spends spring and summer floating on the surface of the water it grows in. The leaves of the waterwheel plant grow in whorls of five to nine structures around the central stem of the plant. During spring and summer, the waterwheel plant grows rapidly, sometimes up to a rate of 4-9mm a day (2). At the onset of winter, the waterwheel plant starts to develop turions that eventually break off of the plant and sinks to the bottom of the water body, allowing it to survive in temperatures as low as -15°C (5°F). Once the temperature rises above 12°C (53°F), the turion floats back to the surface where it grows into a new adult plant.

[2]
[2]

The whorled leaves consist of two lobes that have a fine coating of hairs that grow to a length of 8mm. Invertebrates, small fish, or tadpoles that brush against these hairs trigger the lobes to slam shut within 10 milliseconds and then begin to pump water out until the space between them is hermetically sealed (3). The prey captured is then crushed by the leaves and is slowly digested by the plant until nothing is left, allowing the leaf to reopen. The trapping mechanism is only possible when the water temperature reaches above 20°C (68°F), with the plant relying on photosynthesis for its energy requirements outside of that temperature range.

[3]
[3]

Waterwheel plants produce a single white flower that is supported above the water and is pollinated by bees. These flowers are only open for a few hours before being dragged back down under the water to commence seed production (4). Fruit and seeds are rarely produced in populations within temperate water bodies, instead spreading by vegetive division. Akin to the turions produced in winter, the waterwheel plant forms shoots that eventually drop off of the plant and grow into adult plants. This method of reproduction led to the species becoming invasive when it was introduced to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States of America.

Five Fast Moving Plant Species

The bladderworts (Utricularia species) can close their traps used to catch insects at a speed of 0.5 milliseconds (about twenty times faster than the waterwheel plant, and 200 times faster than the more well-known Venus fly trap (Dionaea muscipula)).

[4]
[4]

The dogwood bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) spreads and reproduces via wind dispersal. To facilitate this, the bunchberry opens its flower and fires its pollen within the space of 0.5 milliseconds at a speed of 24,000 m/s2 (5).

Likewise, the white mulberry tree (Morus alba) also spreads its pollen via wind dispersal. The pollen is released over a period of 25 microseconds at velocities of half the speed of sound (6).

One of the most well knows fast-moving plants is the sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) which, upon receiving contact with its leaves, curls in on itself to avoid excessive damage being done to the plant.

[5]
[5]

The semaphore plant (Codariocalyx motorius) has hinged leaves that move fast enough to be tracked by the human eye. The plant constantly adjusts its leaves to ensure they always have maximum light exposure with leaf rotation taking approximately three minutes to complete.

References

1. www.arkive.com

2. Komiya, S. (1966). "A report on the natural habitat of Aldrovanda vesiculosa found in Hanyu City". Amatores Herb. Kobe, Japan. 27: 5–13.

3. Aston, H. I. (1983). "Aldrovanda vesiculosa L.". Flora of Australia. Vol. 8. pp. 64–66.

4. Cross, A. (2012). "Aldrovanda, The Waterwheel Plant". Carnivorous Plants of Britain and Ireland. Dorset, UK: Redfern Natural History Productions.

5. Walker, Marilyn (2008). Wild plants of Eastern Canada : identifying, harvesting and using : includes recipes & medicinal uses. Halifax N.S.: Nimbus

6. Taylor, P.E., G. Card, J. House, M. H. Dickinson & R.C. Flagan 2006. High-speed pollen release in the white mulberry tree, Morus alba L.. Sexual Plant Reproduction 19(1): 19–24

Picture Credits

1. 14442154605_4077aaef25_b.jpg (1024×680) (bp.blogspot.com)

2. R.956c7de2e9cfa0f23fc75474f6960ceb (745×1000) (bing.com)

3. Aldrovanda-vesiculosa-flower.jpg (1024×768) (carnivorousplantresource.com)

4. Bladderwort-2.gif (720×381) (science101.com)

5. R.bbb6a9ad87cfaae2bee6bcfe4af9f75d (300×265) (bing.com)

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Nature is green in 'leaf and stem'

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