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Why Some Plants Close Their Leaves at Night

While we may view it as a fascinating garden spectacle, flora likely evolved to shut in the dark to benefit their survival.

By Lydia Rivers
Jul 20, 2021 2:00 PM
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(Credit: Niraelanor/Shutterstock)

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If you’ve ever wandered around a garden at sundown, you may have noticed that some plants seem to close their leaves at the end of the day. While it might appear as if they're dozing off after a long day of photosynthesizing, plants that close up at night are showing off an evolution-driven behavior called nyctinasty

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