Video: How do plants know when to bloom? Spring flowering explained by UW chronobiologist
Our take
Plants, like people, have a circadian clock and they sense seasonal changes to light and temperature. Plants that bloom in the spring use the longer days and warmer temperatures as seasonal cues that it’s time to bloom.
Related
Takato Imaizumi talked with UW News about how the warmer temperatures this winter might affect spring blooming this year
There are a few ways that plants can sense these cues. Plants with leaves are more sensitive to sunlight and use increasing daylight as a cue to bloom. Plants where the flower comes straight out of the ground or a branch, such as cherry trees and tulips, use temperature as their main cue to bloom.
Takato Imaizumi, UW professor of biology, studies the genes that plants use to monitor seasonal changes. In this video, he shares more details about how plants sense seasonal changes.
For more information, contact Imaizumi at takato@uw.edu.
Read on the original site
Open the publisher's page for the full experience