It's “quarter to gentian!” Some plants open and close their flowers at specific times of the day and night. Could the opening of the flowers determine the time of day, like a clock? Let's find out together!

About 300 years ago, the Swedish botanist Carl von Linné (1707 - 1778) observed that certain plants opened and closed their flowers at specific times each day. In his book "Philosophia Botanica", dated 1751, he describes a compilation of appropriate species which he conceives as a "floral clock".

Extract from Linné's Philosophia botanica, 1751 describing the "Holorogium florae" concept.

The "Florologium" project proposes to recreate the floral clock over the course of a season in order to show whether Linnaeus' somewhat crazy concept is still feasible.