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Plants and Trees · entry 45 of 52
Climbing beans curl around supports because one side of their stem grows faster than the other.
The longer version
A twining stem sweeps slowly through the air until it meets something to hold. Contact changes growth on the touching side, and cells on the outer side lengthen more quickly, so the stem bends around the support.
The curl tightens as the difference continues, and once the coil grips, the stem thickens and hardens. Climbing lets the plant reach light without building a thick self-supporting stem, which saves material and speeds vertical growth. The direction of the coil is fixed for a given species. Some climbers use tendrils or adhesive pads instead, but the idea of reaching light cheaply is the same.
Where this entry sits
Plants and Trees gathers ordinary and surprising details about how green things live, from the tallest forest giants down to the moss on a garden wall. Expect notes on flowers, seeds, roots, leaves, fungi, and the quiet tricks plants use to spread and survive. The full list sits on the Plants and Trees page, where every entry is listed in order.
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Read 49Bark protects the living tissue inside a trunk from insects, fire, drying winds, and disease.
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Read 52Carnivorous plants live in boggy ground where soil is poor, so they catch insects to supplement their diet.
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