Codariocalyx motorius
| Telegraph plant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Codariocalyx |
| Species: | C. motorius |
| Binomial name | |
| Codariocalyx motorius (Houtt.) H. Ohashi | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Codariocalyx motorius (though often placed in Desmodium[1]), known as the telegraph plant or semaphore plant, is a tropical Asian shrub, one of a few plants capable of rapid movement; others include Mimosa pudica and the venus flytrap.
It is widely distributed throughout Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It can even be found on the Society Islands, a remote chain of islands in the South Pacific. It produces small, purple flowers. This plant is famous for its movement of small, lateral leaflets at speeds rapid enough to be perceivable with the naked eye. This is possibly a strategy to maximise light by tracking the sun . Each leaf is equipped with a hinge that permits it to be moved to receive more sunlight, but the weight of these leaves means the plant must expend a lot of energy in moving it. To optimise its movement, each large leaf has two small leaflets at its base. These move constantly along an elliptical path, sampling the intensity of sunlight, and directing the large leaf to the area of most intensity. Another hypothesis has been offered that the rapid movements are intended to deter potential predators.[2]
The common name is due to the rotation of the leaflets with a period of about three to five minutes; this was likened to a semaphore telegraph, a structure with adjustable paddles that could be seen from a distance, the position of which conveyed a message in semaphore, hence the common names.
The Tamils call this plant ThozhukaNNi (Tamil: தொழுகண்ணி). The plant is known as Praanajeewa - ප්රාණජීව in Sri Lanka, due to its movements resembling that there is a life within the plant.[3]
The plant is described in detail in Charles Darwin's 1880 The Power of Movement in Plants.
Legend
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Dai girl named Duoyi. She loves dancing very much and dances skillfully. In gaps between the farming periods, she often tour around villages of different ethnic groups to perform for the poor. She was later known for her masterful performance. However, sometime later a bad leader came and robbed Duoyi and forced her to dance for him only. Duoyi didn’t follow and she escaped and suicide by drowning. People from the village then salvaged her body and held a funeral. Over the time, some beautiful grasses were grown from Duoyi’s grave, and they ‘dance’ whenever music starts. From then, people called this plant as ‘Dancing-grass’, and they believes the grasses are the incarnation of Duoyi.
Usasage
Due to its special feature that it can ‘dance’, the plant has been used as ornament in gardening, in which some are made as bonsais.
Apart of ornamental values, the plant also have medical values. Its leaves, stems and roots contains small amounts of tryptamine alkaloids, namely DMT and 5-MeO-DMT, thus the whole plant can be used as medicine, which has efficacy in removing blood stasis, opening up the blocked meridians, relieve lower back and chronic pain; it can also smoothen and whiten the skin by soaking its leaves in water.
References
- ↑ "Codariocalyx motorius". International Legume Database & Information Service. November 2005. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
- ↑ Simcha Lev-Yadun. "The enigmatic fast leaflet rotation in Desmodium motorium: Butterfly mimicry for defense?" Plant Signaling & Behavior, 2013. "
- ↑ http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/18758131
External links
- Trout’s Notes on the Genus Desmodium Chemistry, ethnomedicine, pharmacology, synonyms and miscellany (pdf)
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1540184/