§2] 



i;PON^ THE DIRECTION OF GROWTH 



437 



§ 2. Effect of Light upon the Dieection of Growth 

 — Phototeopism * 



Under this topic will be considered, first, the effect upon 

 plants ; secondly, upon animals ; and, after that, certain gen- 

 eral matters concerning phototropism. 



1. Plants. — The fact that seedlings reared in a room near a 

 window all have their tops directed towards the source of light 

 instead of vertically can 

 scarcely have escaped any 

 one's notice. References to 

 the phenomenon are found 

 in the literature of the an- 

 cients ; its scientific study 

 was begun in the early part 

 of the last century by Hales 

 (1727). Not only the stems 

 of seedlings but many other 

 plant-organs show this 

 growth with reference to 

 the direction of the infalling 

 rays of light. Among these 

 are tips of many stems, many 

 leaves, cotyledons, roots (es- 

 pecially aerial ones), tendrils, 

 the fruit-bearing hyphse of 

 cryptogams, and certain or- 

 gans of the bryophytes and 

 pteridophytes. 



The sense of the turning 

 in ordinary daylight is not 

 always the same. While the 

 stems of most seedlings of 

 phanerogams turn towards 

 the light (positive photo- 



Fig. 12i. — Seedling of Sinapis alba exhibiting 

 positive pbototropism of tbe stem, ah, and 

 negative phototropism of the root, de. nn, 

 surface of the water in which the plant is 

 germinating. The arrow indicates the di- 

 rection of the infalling light rays. (From 

 Frank, '92.) 



* On some accounts it is unfortunate to accept this word rather than the 

 older, more familiar term ' ' heliotropism " ; but as the latter is obviously unfitted 

 to our broader view of the subject, and encourages the introduction of new 

 special terms, such as selenetropism or turning towards the moon (Musset, '90), 

 I think it is desirable to adopt the newer term. 



