All plants can move even though they can’t walk like animals. Plants may seem like they stay in one place from the time they are planted, but this isn’t true. You would be amazed how much plants actually can move. Every plant that grows from seed will move, even if only in subtle ways. There are also specific species of plants that move in a much more obvious way.
Can a Plant Move?
All plants move. Most plants move toward the best access to the resources they require. Some plants move slowly and subtly over time, but a few move fast enough to be seen.
How Plants Can Move
As plants grow, they inevitably move. Even the plants you think have always been in the same spot have moved. Like any plant that grows from a seed, it always moves up and out as it grows. Most plants will also tend to grow in a way that they will have the best chance for survival. Just like animals and people move to areas with the most food and water, so do plants.
The plant growth hormone auxin is why plants grow toward the light. This hormone will spread out evenly throughout a plant growing in direct sunlight. When part of a plant is growing in the shade, the auxin will be used on the shady side to bend the plant toward the sunlight. The auxin will break down in the leaves on the sunny side to allow more hormone production to adjust the plant’s growth away from the shade.
All plants move, and they all do so for a reason. Plants grow in the direction of the best life for them. However, some plants have ways to move even quicker than plants do through the process of phototropism.
Types of Plants That Move the Most
A few types of plants move in a much more obvious and observable way. These three plants have evolved to use their movements for different reasons but ultimately for their most beneficial way of life.
Venus Flytrap
The Venus Flytrap has evolved to be a species of carnivorous plant which can move in a fast way that can be seen. Venus Flytraps catch their live food for nutrients in a trap that closes around their prey when landed on. These plants can move very fast and shut their traps in under one-tenth of a second. This is one of the fastest-moving plants you can find.
Prayer Plant
The prayer plant is scientifically called Maranta leuconeura, which moves through a process known as nyctinasty, also known as nighttime folding. The prayer plant gets its intriguing name from the way its leaves will fold at night in a way that resembles praying hands. The prayer plant moves twice a day, once to fold its leaves at night and once to unfold them in the morning.
The Sensitive Plant
The sensitive plant, also called mimosa pudica, is known for its swift movement. This plant is capable of thigmonasty, which is movement induced by touch. This plant is a sensitive plant because the leaves react to being touched, shaken, or even heated or cooled rapidly. The leaves close in a ripple effect from outside stimulation.