The small, star-shaped white flowers are made up of five deeply-notched blossoms. This annual folds up its leaf tips in addition to closing its flowers. The chickweed flowers also close when it is going to rain. Perennial plants fold up their flowers and sometimes their leaves to protect themselves from nighttime nectar collectors and to save their flowers from harsh environmental conditions.
Purple winecup Callirhoe involucrata creates a inch-wide mat of hairy leaves. The cup-shaped purple flowers are covered in white spots.
This flower opens in the morning and closes at night, but the blossoms stay closed once the flower is pollinated. Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis grows leaves and flowers on separate stems.
Gladiolus tristis or The Night Gladiolus is only scented at night and into the early morning. Ipomoea alba, widely known as Moonflower, produces beautiful, white flowers which not only bloom in the morning but also all night long. Epiphyllum oxypetalum , also known as Kadupul or Queen of the Night has an extremely short lifespan.
It blooms rarely and only at night, and then will die by the next morning. Plants with flowers that only open late in the day or at night are often used in night-blooming gardens or moon gardens. Plant night blooming plants and enjoy their fragrance and gentle beauty. Some plants grow new cells to facilitate petal movement. They grow new cells on the outside of the petal base to force them to shut and then grow more cells on the inside to open them again.
Other plants grow their lower petals faster than their upper petals, forcing the flower to close, while some of them initiate the closure by pumping water out of cells at the base of the petals. Each mechanism is an intriguing and artful activity developed by certain species over millions of years of evolution. However, there are some theories that are postulated. Some scientists believe that this behavior prevents pollen from becoming wet and heavy with dew, based on the simple fact that the pollen of most plant species loses its viability when it gets wet.
The advantage of dry pollen is that it is lighter and more easily distributed by insects. And one fascinating idea holds that nyctinasty is a highly evolved defense mechanism against a plant's nocturnal predators.
By closing up tight, the flowers in your garden create a clearer view of the ground for nighttime hunters, like owls, who kill off flower-munching herbivores out looking for a midnight snack. Email asklizzyp gmail. Follow LiveScience on Twitter livescience.
The flowers resist drought and will grow and bloom in poor soils. Gazanias grow best in sun; if they are planted in shade, its flowers won't open. These flowers self-seed prolifically and will come back year after year. The feathery leaves and stems are a dull gray-green but the flowers make up for it by blooming in bright orange.
The plant usually stays about 12 inches high but will reach 24 inches high under optimum growing conditions. Another flower that spreads quickly and returns year after year if you let it go to seed is the African daisy. When removing plants, give them a good shake over the ground to release the seeds. The plants are short--only 12 inches high--and produce small, dark green leaves.
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