Plant Physiology - Musiyenko M.M. 2001

Plant Movements
Plant Movements

Movements in higher plants are not associated with significant spatial displacement. Instead, they involve the movement of individual Organs—roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. Plant Movements can be classified as locomotor or oriented, with the most critical ones being linked to growth processes. Responding to external stimuli, a plant alters the spatial orientation of its organs.

A distinction is made between movements of individual plant organs associated with growth (growth movements) and those resulting from Changes in the turgor pressure of specific Cells and Tissues (turgor movements). Growth movements, in turn, fall into two categories: Tropisms (movements induced by the directional influence of an environmental factor, such as gravity, light, or Temperature) and nasties (growth movements determined by organ Structure and triggered by a generalized, diffuse shift in a given factor) (Fig. 204). Both tropisms and nasties are fundamentally based on The phenomenon of irritability.

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Fig. 204. Tropisms and nasties: 1 — geotropism, 2 — phototropism, 3 — thermonasties, 4 — photonasties: a — night, b — day



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