4 ms·

Venus flytraps count electrical impulses to induce the digestive process (2016)

46 points by gaws 3y ago

neonate 3y ago
https://archive.ph/Bi9qY https://archive.ph/Bi9qY
dang 3y ago
Related: Venus flytraps 'able to count' in order to avoid false alarms, study finds - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10950449 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10950449 - Jan 2016 (8 comments)
yieldcrv 3y ago
> When one of these is bumped by a bumbling fly, it triggers a spike of calcium ions that send an electrical impulse through the lobes, much like those that travel along your neurons. Makes me wonder what was being selected for, and what is currently being selected for Aka: how did these evolve and what other things did they evolve from or where are the sister species, and what directions are they currently evolving to? Where are the other fast moving plants? Why aren’t there similar things that are even more able - or mobile (you see I’m trying to satisfy pedantic delineation from specialists in this field, but I lack the words)
- callym 3y ago
  Mimosa pudica is another fast-moving plant, which isn't carnivorous (and not closely related) Some Drosera (sundew) species actively curl their leaves around prey, but rely on the prey being stuck to their leaves already, so different to the mechanism of a VFT. Drosera and VFT are in the same family, so are pretty closely related. There's Utricularia (bladderworts) which are capable of catching prey rapidly, but the plant itself doesn't really move I guess.
- capableweb 3y ago
  > Where are the other fast moving plants? Seems there is a bunch of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_plant_movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_plant_movement
  - appletrotter 3y ago
    > The Venus flytrap is one of a very small group of plants that are capable of rapid movement.
- dekhn 3y ago
  I believe most carnivorous plants evolved while living in areas with depleted soil resources. Presumably, during that time, there was some sort of selection for plant mutants that were slightly more likely to survive because they could absorb nutrients from decaying insects, but without any sort of physical trap mechanism. Then, over time, some small physical mutations showed up (and provided a survival and reproduction benefit)... and ... well, to be honest, speculating about evolution like this is remarkably iffy. But we can speculate they probably happened through modifications of existing plant primitives, like leaf structures. Dawkins made an attempt at it in The Blind Watchmaker. See also https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-carnivorous-plants-evolved-180979697/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-carnivorou... and https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2017.21425 https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2017.21425

46 points by gaws 3y ago

https://archive.ph/Bi9qY https://archive.ph/Bi9qY

dang 3y ago

Related: Venus flytraps 'able to count' in order to avoid false alarms, study finds - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10950449 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10950449 - Jan 2016 (8 comments)

yieldcrv 3y ago

> When one of these is bumped by a bumbling fly, it triggers a spike of calcium ions that send an electrical impulse through the lobes, much like those that travel along your neurons. Makes me wonder what was being selected for, and what is currently being selected for Aka: how did these evolve and what other things did they evolve from or where are the sister species, and what directions are they currently evolving to? Where are the other fast moving plants? Why aren’t there similar things that are even more able - or mobile (you see I’m trying to satisfy pedantic delineation from specialists in this field, but I lack the words)

callym 3y ago
Mimosa pudica is another fast-moving plant, which isn't carnivorous (and not closely related) Some Drosera (sundew) species actively curl their leaves around prey, but rely on the prey being stuck to their leaves already, so different to the mechanism of a VFT. Drosera and VFT are in the same family, so are pretty closely related. There's Utricularia (bladderworts) which are capable of catching prey rapidly, but the plant itself doesn't really move I guess.
capableweb 3y ago
> Where are the other fast moving plants? Seems there is a bunch of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_plant_movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_plant_movement
- appletrotter 3y ago
  > The Venus flytrap is one of a very small group of plants that are capable of rapid movement.
dekhn 3y ago
I believe most carnivorous plants evolved while living in areas with depleted soil resources. Presumably, during that time, there was some sort of selection for plant mutants that were slightly more likely to survive because they could absorb nutrients from decaying insects, but without any sort of physical trap mechanism. Then, over time, some small physical mutations showed up (and provided a survival and reproduction benefit)... and ... well, to be honest, speculating about evolution like this is remarkably iffy. But we can speculate they probably happened through modifications of existing plant primitives, like leaf structures. Dawkins made an attempt at it in The Blind Watchmaker. See also https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-carnivorous-plants-evolved-180979697/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-carnivorou... and https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2017.21425 https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2017.21425