Chinese scientists have discovered four species of gentiana on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, according to a study recently published in China's English scientific journal Science Bulletin.

 

The four species of the flowering plant react to being touched by rapidly closing their petals.

 

While it is known that leaves of certain plants can react to touch within a matter of seconds - such as the Venus Flytrap – flowers were typically thought to be mechanically insensitive prior to the discovery save for one exception: the sundew plants. The sundew can contract its crown within 2 to 10 minutes after simulation.

 

The four species in the study, however, take anywhere between 7 to 210 seconds to close their crowns, thus making it the most sensitive and fast reacting flower in the world.

 

One explanation for this rapid closure behavior could be that it is a way for the flower to protect itself from repeated intrusions by bumblebees, which could damage the flower's exterior and ovary through clumsy attempts to collect nectar.

By ZHANG ZHIHAO