The Restless Plant PDF
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The Restless Plant T H E R E S T L E S S P L A N T DOV KOLLER Edited by Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, En gland 2011 Copyright © 2011 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Koller, Dov. The restless plant / Dov Koller ; edited by Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978- 0- 674- 04863- 8 (alk. paper) 1. Plants—Irritability and movements. 2. Tropisms. I. Van Volkenburgh, Elizabeth. II. Title. QK771.K58 2011 575.9'7—dc22 2010013249 In memory of Dov Koller (1925– 2007)— scientist and teacher; husband, father, and grandfather Contents Foreword by Daphne Koller ix Author’s Preface xi Editor’s Preface xiii 1 A Guided Tour of Plant Movements 1 2 Motors 22 3 Gravity- Guided Movements 46 4 The Underground World 68 5 Light- Driven Movements 91 6 Tracking the Sun 114 7 Prey- Driven Movements 145 8 Liberation Movements: Leaving the Nest 158 Conclusion by Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh 175 Glossary 181 Further Reading 199 Index 201 Foreword This book is the product of two of my father’s passions. The fi rst was his passion, as a researcher, for understanding the miracle of plant move- ment, a topic that was the focus of his research for over 25 years. The second was his passion for teaching—f or reaching out to people and con- veying the beauty found in science and nature. My father was struck by the fact that, although plants are all around us, relatively few people real- ize how complex and rich the plant world is. Although the remarkable phenomenon of plant motion was fi rst explored by Darwin in 1880, this concept and all the rich understanding that has emerged since Darwin’s revelation are nevertheless unfamiliar to most people. This book is my father’s attempt to make these ideas accessible to more people, and thereby reveal to them another facet of the beauty of the world. This book consumed my father for two years. He worked on it day and night, even in the hospital where he spent a large part of the last months of his life. Days before his death, he produced a complete draft of the text, but one that was lacking fi gures, references, and an index. On behalf of my family, we would like to thank the people who helped, both before and after my father’s death, to bring this book to completion. Professor Winslow Briggs and Professor Jaime Kiegel had many useful discussions with my father in the pro cess of writing the book. Professor Roger Han- garter and the anonymous reviewer made valuable comments on the fi rst draft of this manuscript. Dov Bock produced the beautiful illustrations that help visualize the concepts in the book. Professor Alfred Mayer stepped forward after my father’s death and generously provided tremendous help in detailed comments and suggestions regarding the fi gures and references.
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