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AUTONOMOUS MOVEMENTS IN ELEIOTIS SORORIA DC.*
(With two figures in the text.)
By W. T. Saxton, F.L.S.
1. Introduction
When fully grown, Eleiotis sororici is a considerably branched herb, and the branches trail along the ground amongst other vegeta- tion to a length of a yard or so. It is usually found in more or less shady localities. It was only known to the writer from Herbarium specimens until October, 1921, when a very considerable number of large, healthy plants was met with on a small hill in Devgad Baria State, in the Panch Mahals. It is probably fairly widely distributed in xerophytic woodland. It also occurs in North Gujarat in cultivated fields, under the shade of crop plants or hedges, and some four separate localities are known to the writer where It is to be found, though only one of these is within easy reach of Ahmedabad. Several attempts have been made to cultivate the plants, with some degree of of success, but they do not grow very readily from transplanted specimens, and no seedlings have been raised at present.
Cooke, in his ‘ Plora of the Bombay Presidency 5 (1903), says that Eleiotis sororia is a rare plant in the Presidency, but from the facts given in the preceding paragraph this would appear not to be the case.
Prom the descriptions one would also conclude that the leaves are only exceptionally trifoliolate. This also is inaccurate. Small and stunted plants may seldom develop the small lateral leaflets, but in large, healthy plants a considerable majority of the leaves possess them, though some have only one of the pair and others have no trace of lateral leaflets whatever.
It is surprising that there is apparently no record of the remark- able movements executed by these leaflets having been observed before, though the only other plant (so far as the writer can ascertain) in which similar movements are met with— namely the “ Telegraph plant ”, Desmodium gyrans DC.,— has been well-known to Botanists for half a century at least, and has been repeatedly studied. The most complete recent account of the movements of Desmodium gyrans is given by Sir J. 0. Bose, in his " Eesearches on irritability in plants ”
- A preliminary announcement of these movements was read at the joint
meeting of the Indian Science congress (Botany section) and Indian Botanical Society at Madras, in January, 1922.
