I found a plant that was half in the sun and half in the shade. The sunny side (on the right) had 'wilted' curled up leaves and the shady side (on the left) did not! Since the plant gets all its water from the same root system (and also because it had recently rained in that area), it is very unlikely that the plant was wilting on only one side due to lack of water. Instead, it is probably curling its leaves to reduce the effects of heat and sunlight.
There were many other plants in direct sun, which were also 'wilty', and in shade, which were not.
I'll have more thoughts on my visit to Cedar Creek Park soon!
I think jewelweed may get a little wilty under direct sun as its a fast growing annual without a very well developed cutical. Its probably more a function of the water not being able to be pumped fast enough through the system.
ReplyDeleteunless its a drought...
Well, it is definitely a response to heat and light but do you think it has trouble moving the water to one half of the plant but not the other? Maybe I guess. Just interesting that the first time I saw it I thought it was because the soil was too dry, but that doesn't seem to be the case at least this time...
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