Negative gravitropism of stems


This movie shows the negative gravitropic response of a Coleus shoot after being placed on its side. After about an hour (6 frames), gravitropic curvature is underway at the tip of the shoot. Notice that the leaves near the base of the plant also reorient and establish to a more horizontal position, as they had been before the plant was turned on its side. Thus, gravitropism is not limited to stems and roots since other organs on a plant, like the leaves shown here, also sense and respond to gravity. The images for this movie were captured every 10 min and the frames are played back at 10 frames per second.