Hello,

I am a translator of Japanese comics into English and I recently came
across this reference to a plant called "aihagi" in Japanese. I can't
find the English for it in any of my dictionaries.

According to the description it has 1 large leaf and 2 smaller leaves
attached together to the stem of the larger leaf, and the 2 smaller
leaves constantly spin in an ellipse.

Has anyone heard of such a thing? It is possible that it is just a
made-up plant and doesn't exist (although it's presented as
"nonfiction"), but if it does, I would love to know the scientific or
common name for it.

I also have a scan of the accompanying illustration of it. If seeing
it would help, please e-mail me and I will send it to you.

I appreciate any help you can give in advance. Thanks!


Sincerely,
Kumar

In article ,
Kumar Sivasubramanian wrote:

I am a translator of Japanese comics into English and I recently came
across this reference to a plant called "aihagi" in Japanese. I can't
find the English for it in any of my dictionaries.

According to the description it has 1 large leaf and 2 smaller leaves
attached together to the stem of the larger leaf, and the 2 smaller
leaves constantly spin in an ellipse.

Has anyone heard of such a thing? It is possible that it is just a
made-up plant and doesn't exist (although it's presented as
"nonfiction"), but if it does, I would love to know the scientific or
common name for it.

There's a plant called the "telegraph plant" or "semaphore plant":

Desmodium gyrans
n : erect tropical Asian shrub whose small lateral leaflets
rotate on their axes and jerk up and down under the
influence of sunshine [syn: telegraph plant, semaphore
plant, Codariocalyx motorius, Desmodium motorium, Desmodium
gyrans]

I got 347 hits on "Desmodium gyrans" on google.com, including an article
about a guy in Thailand who grows them and calls them "dancing plants".

There's a plant called the "telegraph plant" or "semaphore plant":

Desmodium gyrans
n : erect tropical Asian shrub whose small lateral leaflets
rotate on their axes and jerk up and down under the
influence of sunshine [syn: telegraph plant, semaphore
plant, Codariocalyx motorius, Desmodium motorium, Desmodium
gyrans]

I got 347 hits on "Desmodium gyrans" on google.com, including an article
about a guy in Thailand who grows them and calls them "dancing plants".

Wow! This is exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate it. Thanks!


Kumar