A Model on the Main Pulvinus Movement of Mimosa Pudica

Abstract

There are many kinds of action plants like Mimosa pudica in the world. It is very interesting and important to investigate the mechanism of their motion with the viewpoint to develop a new micro-machine or to use them as bio-machines. In this paper we have investigated the mechanism of the main pulvinus movement of Mimosa pudica by measuring in detail the torque generated during the deflection of the pulvinus. After a petiole was attached to a load cell to measure the deflecting torque, a thermal stimulation was given by ice. The experiments were carried out under controlled illumination. Furthermore a new model of the deflection has been proposed using the concept of ion channel and ion pump.