British Pathe

British Instructional Films presentation.

"Sundew" - C/U of the plant. Finger points to three clumps of Sundew. Flower stalk growing seen through time lapse. C/U of one of the plant's seed pods in X-ray. Unusual leaves of the plant form its unusual method of nutrition. The leaf opens seen...

British Instructional Films presentation.

"Sundew" - C/U of the plant. Finger points to three clumps of Sundew. Flower stalk growing seen through time lapse. C/U of one of the plant's seed pods in X-ray. Unusual leaves of the plant form its unusual method of nutrition. The leaf opens seen in time-lapse. A leaf is rotated in C/U. Very bizarre looking. Fingertip touches the leaves to show how sticky they are. Fly seen caught on the outer tentacles of leaf. The tendrils close up, trapping the fly and covering it with sticky fluid. Another leaf seen closing around a fly. "Toadstool and Mushroom" - fungi seen growing in time lapse. Eye of a needle containing fungi spores is put under a microscope to show how tiny they are. Spores seen highly magnified. Spore growing in time lapse. Spores grow to form a "thin mat" from which the fungus grows upwards. Fungus seen growing up through the earth. Mushroom section (a model). Pencil points to the gills of the mushroom then a tiny portion is taken to be examined under a microscope. Enlarged diagram of what the microscope shows. The diagram is animated to show how the spores grow and pop off. Spores growing under a microscope. "Dodder" - many dodders seen growing through time lapse. These are parasitic plants which live off hosts. Dodders seen encircling host plants in time lapse. C/U of a dodder stem to show the suckers. Cross section of the host stem surrounded by a dodder. Animation shows how the suckers grow inwards into the stem. Six plants of the same age compared - those attacked by the dodders are much smaller. Time lapse of dodder growing. 5 hours growth shown in time lapse. An alarm clock placed by the plant shows how quickly it grows. Flowers of the dodder are seen in C/U. They open out. C/U of the seeds. Compiled with the Co-operation of the National Committee for Visual Aids in Education.

Note: Although title states that this is a "Secrets of Nature" film, it is not the Secrets of Nature we know and love. Sections of earlier S.O.N. films have been lifted and given a straightforward narration. Named on cans as "Plants Nutrition." Nitrate and safety prints exist. 35 mm safety print plus 16 mm mute and track negs.