The word phototropism is defined as the bending of a plant toward the direction of a more intense or harsher source of light. It is the tendency of a plant to move or grow towards a source of light. The tendency of phototropism is commonly seen in the case of the flowers known as African violets and also in the case of some other varieties of plants. It is activated by a hormone called auxin, which is sensitive to light.
The organism which grows or moves either toward or away from the source of light is said to be sessile. The source of light is unidirectional, and a plant which is positively phototropic is one that is able to get oriented to this unidirectional source of light easily. The direction in which the plant grows or moves is determined by the direction of the source of light. The shoots of plants are usually positively phototropic, whereas the roots of plants usually exhibit negative phototropism, which is also known as skototropism.
The organism which grows or moves either toward or away from the source of light is said to be sessile. The source of light is unidirectional, and a plant which is positively phototropic is one that is able to get oriented to this unidirectional source of light easily. The direction in which the plant grows or moves is determined by the direction of the source of light. The shoots of plants are usually positively phototropic, whereas the roots of plants usually exhibit negative phototropism, which is also known as skototropism.
