Eplant - Elektronica hortensium

A project for the Fernery of Pukekura Park, New Plymouth

Commonly known as the ePlant, the engineering of Elektronica hortensium by me and software author John Christini, has created an entirely new family of plants, called Elektronicaceae, the naming given by recently retired park curator Chris Connolly. Programmable by mobile phone to bloom on any cycle, the plant also has a manual switch for operation.

The blooming event commences with random LED lights on lower leaf veins, followed by outwardly moving patterns. Upper petals open out one at a time, while stamen rise up from the trunk to a custom audio track. The stamen perform a dance which includes the search for their current position. Once completed, they retract into the trunk, the petals close up one by one, LEDs pulse inwards and then return to random. The audio is a composite of Saturn auroroa audio and dawn chorus, with pitch and speed adjusted.

Thanks to the Fernery team for the install.

View from above. Rather than create a metallic machine, the ePlant has fragilities and sensitivities. It gently touches surrounding plants and the non-identical stamen wobble in their dance.

Retracted, furled, lights and audio not activated, just after a morning water.

Currently programmed hourly, the hortensium relates to the Chatham Islands Forget-Me-Not which curator Chris Connolly was working on at the time. Elektronica hortensium is endemic to Taranaki.

Wide view of the ePlant among neighbors in house two of the Fernery. While it may look complicated, the ePlant like nature, is composed of a few simple rules varied, rotated and reflected. The immense variety of trees and plants we see in forests are all based on seven simple leaf types. This project replicates that.