The late, great broadcaster Terry Wogan had an unexpected hit with The Floral Dance in 1978.

However, we doubt he knew that sunflowers actually “dance” with each other to share sunlight.

Researchers have discovered that plants that grow close together – each casting a shadow on neighboring plants – can circumvent this problem by moving randomly.

Professor Yasmine Meroz of Tel Aviv University in Israel grew sunflowers in a high-density environment and photographed them as they grew.

A time-lapse film showed the flowers “dancing” to “find the best angle so that no flower blocked the sunlight from another.”

Researchers have discovered that plants that grow close together – each casting a shadow on the neighboring plant – can circumvent the problem by moving randomly (symbolic image).

A time-lapse film showed the flowers “dancing” to “find the best angle so that no flower blocks the sunlight of the others.”

The study sheds light on a puzzle that has puzzled researchers since Darwin, namely the functional role of such inherent movements, called circumnutations.

Study leader Professor Yasmine Meroz of Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Plant Sciences and Food Security said: “Previous studies have shown that sunflowers planted densely in a field and shading each other grow in a zigzag pattern – one forward and one backward – to avoid shading each other.”

“In this way, they grow side by side to maximize illumination from the sun and thus photosynthesis on a collective level.”

“In fact, plants know how to distinguish between the shadow of a building and the green shadow of a leaf.

“When they sense the shadow of a building, they usually do not change their growth direction because they ‘know’ it will have no effect.”

“But when they sense the shadow of a plant, they grow in a direction away from the shade.”

The study was published in the journal Physical Review X.