nyctitropicadj.
/ˌnɪktᵻˈtrɒpɪk/, /ˌnɪktᵻˈtrəʊpɪk/, U.S. /ˌnɪktəˈtrɑpɪk/ Botany.
= nyctinastic adj.See note s.v. nyctitropism n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > growth, movement, or curvature of parts > [adjective] > undergoing tropism
geotropic1875
heliotropic1875
paratonic1875
apheliotropic1880
apogeotropic1880
nyctitropic1880
paraheliotropic1880
plagiotropic1882
phototropic1883
selenotropic1883
rheotropic1884
orthotropic1885
thermotropic1885
haptotropic1888
traumatropic1898
plagiotropous1900
aphototropic1903
orthotropous1909
1880 C. Darwin & F. Darwin Power of Movement in Plants 281 Nyctitropism and nyctitropic, i.e. night-turning, may be applied both to leaves and flowers,..but it would be best to confine the term to leaves.
1880 C. Darwin & F. Darwin Power of Movement in Plants 298 No movement deserves to be called nyctitropic, unless it has been acquired for the sake of lessening radiation.
1885 G. L. Goodale in A. Gray & G. L. Goodale Bot. Text-bk. (ed. 6) II. ii. xiii. 411 When leaves which naturally assume nyctitropic positions are pinned.., serious injuries result.
1904 Bot. Gaz. 38 465 The nyctitropic movements of the tamarind leaf are carefully described [by Theophrastus].
1969 Amer. Midland Naturalist 81 63 Larrea leaflets exhibit nyctitropic movement which also occurs in daytime during general stress.
1988 Ecology 69 1578/1 Nyctitropic leaves respond to darkness, and heliotropic movements are determined by the direction of light.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1880