Experimenting w/ cp's ?

[monkeyman]

I know that flytraps use electrical impulses to trigger their traps, but someone told me that you can prove this by applying a small charge to the center of the trap. I asked someone else about this and they said that this would fry the plants electrical system and disable all of the traps. Even possibly kill the plant.

Is this possible?

 

[Parasuco]

I could be wrong... But.

I'm not sure plants have 'electrical systems'... Wouldn't the electical currents just flow through the water?

 

[sarracenialuver]

I heard that it was small plant-like muscle fibers that trigger the trap to close.

 

[GEORGE-CP]

there are 2-4 hairs that trigger the traps to close all the hair have to be hit at once to close the trap.

 

[joseph]

george, I don't think you have to hit all the hairs at once, just three in a short period of time. This is what I've noticed from the hundreds of fruit fly deaths I've witnessed.

A small current applied to a trap would most likely not hurt the plant. just mist the inside of the trap and then apply a few volts across the trap, I don't know that it will have any effect but it certainly isn't enough to do serious damage.
Just don't plug you VFT into a wall outlet.

joe

 

[FlytrapGurl]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (joseph @ Dec. 16 2002,07:07)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Just don't plug you VFT into a wall outlet.

joe[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
ROTFLMAO!

 

[unknownclown]

well you know what... I dont think it would  fry the plant if you used a  small amount like if you hooked it up to a AA battery it could possibly live thru it.

Or  hey here's something, you know how you can power a cheap clock with a potato maybe you could sorta jumpstart the vft with the potato. Surely the potato wont fry the vft..... Hm... seems awfully goofy realy.

 

[fatboy]

I never heard that B4 UC, do you have to use new potatoes (those little ones) for smaller clocks?

Can the potato be cooked, like could I ladle half a kilo of mashed spuds into the back of my clock and it'll work?

I wonder if I can power my VCR with something larger like a pumpkin?

Cheers, Troy

 

[unknownclown]

haha Fat Boy actually the potato has to be raw and if I remember right you just insert the wires into it.

 

[Dyflam]

How to make electricity with a potato.

 

[Darcie]

Wow, I had no idea how many myths about how VFTs move existed. Currently, the exact methoid of triggering is still being investigated, but in other touch sensitive plants, chemical signals are used. However, the actual movement itself is caused by extreamly fast cell divition and elogation in VFTS. In effect, the trap has a very fast growthspurt on the outerwalls causing the leaf to close, when it reopens, the inside cells grow out to straited the trap back out. Eventually the cells become to numerious to efficently outgrow one side and close and that it when we say the plant has a tired trap. VFTs have a trick for this too though, they slowly grow the cells on the innner surfice to eventually push open the trap to capture light

Cool isn't it? Anyways, this also explains the movement discution in the other recent post, but I didn't go in depth their cause I thought it was common knowledge I need to remember stuff like this doesn't come on the grow instructions, lol!

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Trap movement according to Dr. Barry Rice

 

[monkeyman]

So which is it? Growth spurt or water pressure? Or both?

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

I'd go with Barry Rice.  He's got the Experience to back him up as well as being editor of Carnivorous Plant Newsletter, which is the International Carnivorous Plant Society publication.