Why Does the Dancing Plant Dance? A Full Explanation of the Reasons
The dancing plant (Codariocalyx motorius) is the only plant in nature capable of reacting to sound. Also known as the love plant, the passionate plant, and the courtship plant, it is an upright small shrub of the genus Codariocalyx in the Fabaceae family. Its unique feature is that in sunlight, when stimulated by sound waves, it continuously swings up and down, like a butterfly gently dancing its wings in flight, or like a maiden on stage softly stretching her jade-like arms, and it is named for this. Now let us take a look together at why the dancing plant dances!
Why does the dancing plant dance?
The dancing plant is the only plant in nature capable of reacting to sound. According to scientific research, the reason it dances is mainly related to temperature, sunlight, and its response to sound waves of a certain rhythm, cadence, and intensity. Whenever the sun shines and the temperature rises, the water inside the plant evaporates faster, the spongy tissue swells, and the leaflets begin to swing left and right. Moreover, the dancing plant is sensitive to sound; when stimulated by singing at a volume of 35 to 40 decibels, the spongy tissue also contracts, driving the small leaflets to dance gracefully. In addition, when the outside temperature reaches above 20C, the lateral leaflets of the dancing plant begin to rotate, and when the temperature rises above 30 degrees C, the rotation becomes most active and the speed increases considerably.
What is the flower language of the dancing plant?
The flower language of the dancing plant is happiness and perfect love. On both sides of the dancing plant's leaves grow large numbers of linear leaflets that are extremely sensitive to sound waves. When the temperature is no lower than 22℃, especially in sunlight, they continuously swing up and down when stimulated by sound waves, like a butterfly gently dancing its wings in flight, or like a maiden on stage softly stretching her jade-like arms, and it is named for this. It is distributed in Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Taiwan, China, and is also found in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, and elsewhere.
What uses does the dancing plant have?
1. Ornamental value: The leaves of the dancing plant have the natural characteristic of dancing, moving in light and resting without it. It is an excellent material for making bonsai and is often used in horticultural display, with extremely high ornamental value.
2. Medicinal value: The dancing plant has medicinal and health-care value. The whole plant can be used as medicine and has the effects of removing blood stasis and promoting new tissue growth, and of relaxing muscles and activating collaterals. The leaves can treat fractures, and the stems and branches steeped in liquor and taken can strengthen bones and muscles and treat rheumatic bone pain.
3. Scientific research value: The dancing plant is the only plant in nature capable of reacting to sound, and the reason it dances is mainly related to temperature, sunlight, and its response to sound waves of a certain rhythm, cadence, and intensity.
The story and legend of the dancing plant
In ancient times, in Xishuangbanna there was a beautiful and kind-hearted Dai farm girl named Duoyi. She loved dancing from birth and had outstanding dancing skills, and in her spare time from farming she often traveled among the villages of various ethnic groups, performing dances for the poor common people. With her graceful figure and dancing movements, she was like a golden peacock drinking and playing by a forest spring, and also like a crane flying freely above the fields. Everyone who watched her dance could not help but be intoxicated, forgetting their sorrows, forgetting their pain, and even forgetting themselves. As time went by, Duoyi's fame gradually grew and spread far and wide.
Later, a hateful great tusi (local chieftain) led many of his servants to seize Duoyi by force and take her to his home, demanding that Duoyi dance for him every day. Duoyi refused to submit even at the cost of her life and resisted to the death. Taking advantage of a moment when the guards were not paying attention, she escaped, jumped into the Lancang River, and drowned. Many poor common people spontaneously organized to retrieve Duoyi's body and held a grand funeral for her. Later, a kind of beautiful little grass grew on Duoyi's grave. Whenever music played, it danced to the rhythm, and people all called it the “dancing grass” and regarded it as the incarnation of Duoyi.