PLANT ORIENTATION & TIMING

=Plant Behaviour= [image:http://i.imgur.com/VtABU5b.gif] Plants are capable of much more 'behaviour' than we may imagine. Plants can respond to a variety of things such as light, gravity, water, chemicals and touch. Plant responses are often much slower and involve some change to their growth, however, many plants are capable much faster movements. The ''Mimosa pudica'' can close its leaflets in response to touch or heat (the response is shown in real time). ==A Generalised Plant Response:== Stimulus → Receptor → Signaling → Effector → Response '''Simulus:''' (plural stimuli) is the factor that triggers the response '''Receptors:''' Specialised cells that receive / detect the stimulus '''Signalling:''' In most cases signals are transmitted from the receptors to the effectors by chemicals known as hormones. '''Effectors:''' Specialised cells that initiate a response such as movement. '''Response:''' The resulting behaviour / reaction to the stimulus. ==Common Stimuli== The following are common environmental stimuli that plants respond to. These abiotic factors often form the prefix (beginning) for the name of a given response. E.g. A '''photo'''-tropism is a type of response to light. [image:http://i.imgur.com/JjhE7lR.png?1]