Question

Rohan touched the leaves of touch me not plant and the leaves dropped. Give the reason for the change.

Answer 1

The scientific name of touch me not plant is Mimosa pudica. When Rohan touched the leaves of this plant, it acts as a stimulus for plant and it dropped down in reaction. Th stimulus created a pressure at the point of touch and the water in the vacuoles of the cells of the leaf lose water to adjacent cells. Due to this, the water moved out of the cell and resulted in loss of turgor pressure. Hence, the leaves dropped on touching. This phenomenon of nastic response of plant part to touch is called as seismonasty.