Just read that sunflowers actually follow the sun because of growth hormones on one side of the stem, not because they 'want' sunlight

I stumbled on this fact in a random botany blog while looking up how to keep my potted sunflower from drooping, and it blew my mind - has anyone else had their whole view of a plant flipped by something like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlie_ellis5d ago

Reminds me of finding out that Venus flytraps don't actually snap shut on bugs to "eat" them like some hungry predator. Turns out they're just really sensitive to movement and the trap closes as a reflex, then slowly digests whatever gets caught because they evolved in nutrient-poor soil. Felt like I'd been lied to by every nature documentary I watched as a kid. Still can't look at my little potted flytrap the same way without picturing some accidental bug just wandering in at the wrong moment.

hernandez.finley5d ago

Right? Now I just picture bugs taking a wrong turn like it's a bad luck accident.