Sept. 14, 2016 – One of the most unusual genera in the Plant Kingdom is the genus, Ipomoea. It contains species of purple and white moonflowers, plants with beautiful flowers that bloom at night and then close when exposed to the sun. Does the plant have photosynthesis backwards?

Plants are not usually interesting to watch. Occasionally a bee or another pollinator can be seen obtaining nectar from flowers. It’s a fleeting yet still fabulous look at nature.

With moonflowers though, the evening brings a lot of action. From tightly closed, large buds seen during the day, over the course of a couple of hours in the evening, one or more buds will open to reveal beautiful white or purple flowers, depending on the species.

With a closed bud, this moonflower plant is advertising it will be putting on a show in the evening when the bud opens to reveal a beautiful white flower. (Photo: Student News Net in summer 2016)

The color of the flower identifies the species. Ipomoea muricata produces purple flowers. Ipomoea alba produces white flowers.

As other flowers close in the evening, moonflowers shimmer in the moonlight providing stargazers with a worthwhile earthly gaze as well.

Moonflowers are in the family of flowers known as morning glory, fast growing vines that produce flowers. The Family is formally named Convolvulacaea in the Plant Kingdom. It contains sixty genera and hundreds of species. A Family is just above Genus in the hierarchy of the Plant Kingdom – Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.

Photosynthesis
Moonflower plants have large numbers of green leaves. To thrive, those leaves must have access to sun, water, and carbon dioxide, building blocks needed to undergo the process of photosynthesis so the plant can feed itself.

In photosynthesis, plants capture carbon dioxide from the air, energy from the sun, and water from rain to make carbohydrates, its food. In the process, the plant gives off oxygen, the essential chemical  element to sustain life on Earth. The formula for the photosynthetic process is:

6CO2 (carbon dioxide) + 6H2O (water)  —-> C6H12O6  (carbohydrate – sugars) + 6O2 (oxygen)

The process requires light, usually shown above the arrow in the formula. Photosynthesis is carried out in plants cells in the organelle known as the chloroplast. Chloroplasts contain chlorophyll, a green pigment essential for the plant to conduct photosynthesis. The pigment gives the leaves their green color. In the fall in the Northern Hemisphere when the nights get longer and there is not as much sunlight, production of chlorophyll decreases and other pigments become obvious. Leaves turn brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow. The flow of nutrients is eventually cut off. Leaves fall from the trees ready for a long, cold winter.

What is the source of carbon dioxide that plants capture? It’s humans who respire in a process known as respiration in which oxygen in the air is inhaled and carbon dioxide is exhaled. It’s the cycle of life on Earth for plants and animals.

Moonflowers would not be able to produce flowers without undergoing photosynthesis.

But the flowering process is unique for moonflowers in that lower amounts of sunlight help buds open. The flowers do not last long though. Wide open at night, the flowers begin to shrivel and look Word of the Day droopy as soon as the morning sun shines on the plant. By the end of the day, the bloom is limp and brown.

As the sun shines on the flower that was open all night, it begins to look droopy and will eventually close and turn brown. (Photo: Student News Net)

With all of this action, moonflowers are plants that are interesting to watch at night. Some people may say it’s about as interesting as watching a pot of water boil but why not slow down to see a wonder of nature open before your eyes? Snap a picture or even produce a time-lapse video. Post it on social media to share this nifty, nocturnal wonder with the world!