Research conducted during the Great American Eclipse of 2017 suggested that the sun’s midday disappearance shocked some plants. Young sunflowers face east at dawn and greet the sun, then slowly turn west as the sun moves across the sky. During the night, they slowly turn back to east, waiting for the sun to rise again. This sun tracking movement is known as the “sunflower tracking movement”.
A total solar eclipse will pass over the US on April 8th, turning the sky to darkness as the Moon crosses between the Sun and Earth. The darkness of the eclipse will only last for a few minutes. Throughout the ancient world, people reacted with shock and bewilderment as the sun disappeared during a solar eclipse. According to Choctaw legend, a mischievous black squirrel gnawing on the Sun is the cause of eclipses.
Plant biologists at UC Berkeley and UC Davis show that young sunflowers grow better when they track the sun’s daily motion from east to west across the sky, using an internal clock to help them grow. Sorcerers believed that the moon resembled a demon and that a sorcerer could bind the sun and moon in their course or deprive them of light.
In honor of the solar eclipse, sunflowers can follow the arc of the light, turning their heads towards the brightest spot in the sky. By facing the sun, the flowers of the snow buttercup collect heat from the sun, which is thought to help pollination.
During a total eclipse, plants take up less water over the course of the day and experience a decrease in photosynthesis and transpiration. Participants will also observe sunflowers to see if they continue to track the sun during the eclipse.
📹 Sunflowers during the eclipse
Part of a time-lapse videos of sunflowers at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, during the eclipse.
📹 Sunflower Time lapse, Following the sun.
December 31, 2021. Sunflower Time lapse, Following the sun.
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