Leaf folding in a sensitive plant: A defensive thorn-exposure mechanism?
Quantitative photographic evidence is presented indicating that in the sensitive plant Schrankia microphylla the leaf-folding response that accompanies the sensitive reaction results in a pronounced increase in thorn exposure. It is argued that in sensitive plants that are thorny, including other species of Schrankia, as well as Mimosa pudica, the plant in which the sensitive reaction is traditionally demonstrated, leaf folding may be a defensive adaptation.
Eisner
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Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, Division of Biological Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853.