A plant is growing in the middle of a patch of bare dirt; there are no other pla

Question

A plant is growing in the middle of a patch of bare dirt; there are no other plants within 20 meters except for one other plant one meter away. This second plant has a straight stem and is 3 meters tall. The first plant sends out a shoot along the ground directly towards the tall plant. When the shoot reaches the tall plant’s stem it grows up the stem by winding around and around it.

1. How did the shoot ‘know’ to grow straight to the other plant?

2. How, when the shoot tip touched the other plant’s stem, did the shoot switch from growing straight to growing in a spiral?

Explanation / Answer

1. Here plant shows environmental stimulus. The plant shoot changing the growth from horizontal towards second plant and then straight along the length of plant stem due to Thigmotropism. Thigmotropism is the movement of response of plants stimulated by touch and the plant changes its orientation of growth.

2. The shoot tip when touches the stem of other plant it changes its grows from straight to spiral as the plant releases auxin and ethylene hormones. This is known as Chemotaxis

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.