thigmotropism
/ˌθɪɡmə(ʊ)ˈtrəʊpɪz(ə)m
/noun [mass noun] Biology
The turning or bending of a plant or other organism in response to a touch stimulus.More recently, however, the Arabidopsis root movements were reinterpreted as the combined effect of essentially three processes, circumnuation, gravitropism and negative thigmotropism....
- Negative thigmotropism is movement away from an object, such as a root away from a rock in the soil.
- One of the most common examples of thigmotropism is seen in tendrils, which wrap around any object with which they come in contact.
Derivatives
thigmotropic
- In the absence of this force, the root pattern will depend only on the circumnutating movement, since the negative thigmotropic reaction, dependent on gravitropism, will also be excluded.
- Clematis petioles are positively thigmotropic and its fun to make your own observations of this phenomenon.
- Later experiments proved that the thigmotropic response is possibly the strongest tropic response in plants.
Origin
Early 20th century: from Greek thigma 'touch' + tropism.