Growing towards the light


As anyone who grows housepants knows, plants will eventually grow towards a window and orient their leaves to maximize exposure to the light. In the above movie, a coleus plant was placed near a north-facing window early in the morning. During the day the plant reoriented its leaves so they are more perpendicular to the window, which should provide the leaves with more light exposure for photosynthesis. Like the sunflower shown in the "Sunflower Solar Tracking" movie coleus can also reposition their leaves as the position of the sun in the sky changes during the day via the process called solar tracking.