Codariocalyx motorius / Desmodium gyrans green midrib - Telegraph Plant Seeds

Description

This rather plain looking but nevertheless remarkable small shrub in the pea family is one of the few plants capable of clearly perceptible motion. At night it folds it leaves downwards so that they are fully pendulous while during the day they are spreading and can rotate and appear as if they were dancing, possibly a strategy to maximise light by tracking the sun. Codariocalyx motorius is also widely known by its older name Desmodium gyrans and is widespread in tropical Asia.

The common name is due to the rotation of the leaflets with a period of about three to five minutes; this was likened to a semaphore telegraph, a structure with adjustable paddles that could be seen from a distance, the position of which conveyed a message in semaphore, hence the common names.