Electrical activity of the liver‐wort Conocephalum conicum.: Method of investigation and general characteristics of excitation

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Abstract
The excitation of the thallus of Conocephalum conicum L. produced by a tissue damaging stimulus (incision of thallus edge) was investigated. Changes in potential were measured with extracellular contact electrodes applied at various points of the thallus surface. Non‐stimulated plants showed no electrical activity. After stimulation a series of impulses occurred and were propagated all over the thallus. This plant electrical activity (PEA) depends on the magnitude of the stimulus. PEA is characterized by changes of frequency, time of duration and changes in the values of the amplitude. A similar phenomenon is well known in animal organisms as frequency coding. The general character of PEA does not depend on the kind of damaging stimulus (burn, puncture). PEA may also be induced by an electrical stimulus which does not damage the tissue.