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Codariocalyx motorius
Also called Semaphore Plant, Dancing Plant
Telegraph-plant is a tropical Asian shrub in the pea family known for its leaflets that move rapidly, especially in warm daylight. It is grown mainly as a novelty plant in warm, humid conditions and needs above about 22 °C to show its movement.
Codariocalyx motorius (though often placed in Desmodium), known as the telegraph plant, dancing plant, or semaphore plant, is a tropical Asian shrub in the pea family (Fabaceae), one of the few plants capable of rapid movement; other plants include Mimosa pudica, the venus flytrap and Utricularia. The motion occurs in daylight hours when the temperature is above 22° C. Many sources claim that the two leaflets move on a common axis (like the blades of a kayak paddle) even though there is no rigid connection between them.
It is widely distributed throughout Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It can even be found on the Society Islands, a remote chain of islands in the South Pacific. It produces small, purple flowers which turn orange with time.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Codariocalyx motorius by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
