Question

What is wilting? Some plants show wilting of their leaves at noon even when the soil well watered. Why is it so?

Answer 1

Leaves of some plants wilt during midday and recover in the evening. In some plants, e.g. Balsam, the leaves of the plants wilt during the midday in spite of the fact that there is plenty of water in the soil. In such cases, the rate of transpiration during midday exceeds the rate of absorption of water by the roots. The cells, therefore, lose turgidity. In the evening or during the night, the stomata are constricted and the temperature is not high, therefore, there is no loss of water through transpiration and the turgidity of the leaves is re-acquired and they stand out erect.