Plant Responses Flashcards
Abscisic Acid
A plant hormone that inhibits growth, promotes seed dormancy, and helps plants respond to stress, especially drought
Abscission
The process by which plants shed leaves, flowers, or fruit, often triggered by environmental signals like changes in temperature or light.
Autotroph
An organism that produces its own food using sunlight (photosynthesis) or inorganic substances (chemosynthesis), like plants or certain bacteria.
Auxin
A plant hormone that regulates growth, cell elongation, and responses to light and gravity (e.g., phototropism and gravitropism).
Critical Day Length
The specific amount of daylight that a plant needs to flower; different plants require different day lengths (long-day or short-day plants).
Cytokinin
A class of plant hormones that promote cell division, growth, and delay aging in plant tissues.
Ethylene
A gaseous plant hormone involved in the regulation of fruit ripening, flower wilting, and leaf abscission.
Gravitropism
The growth response of a plant to gravity, where roots grow downward and stems grow upward
Gibberellins
A group of plant hormones that promote stem elongation, seed germination, and flowering.
Hydrotropism
The growth response of plant roots toward or away from moisture.
Long-day Plant
A plant that requires longer daylight hours (typically more than 12 hours) to flower
Nastic Response
A plant’s non-directional movement in response to stimuli
Nyctinasty
The movement of plant parts in response to the onset of darkness, like flowers closing at night.
Photoperiodism
The physiological response of plants to the length of daylight, influencing processes like flowering, dormancy, and germination.
Photosynthesis
The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesise foods from carbon dioxide and water, producing oxygen as a byproduct.
Photoperiod
The length of day and night in a 24-hour cycle, which influences various plant processes, including flowering.
Phototropism
The growth response of a plant to light, where plants grow toward light sources or away from them
Phytochrome
A light-sensitive protein that helps plants detect light and regulate processes like seed germination and flowering.
Phytohormone
Plant hormones that regulate growth, development, and responses to environmental stimuli
Short-day Plant
A plant that requires shorter daylight hours to flower
Thigmonastic
A rapid, non-directional movement of plant parts in response to mechanical stimuli, such as touch.
Thigmotropism
The growth response of a plant to mechanical stimuli, such as touch or contact with objects
Tropism
A directed growth response of a plant toward or away from a stimulus
