nyctitropic

American  

[nik-ti-trop-ik, -troh-pik] / ˌnɪk tɪˈtrɒp ɪk, -ˈtroʊ pɪk /

adjective

Botany.

1. tending to assume at or just before nightfall positions unlike those maintained during the day, as the leaves or flowers of certain plants.

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Other Word Forms

• nyctitropism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of nyctitropic

First recorded in 1875–80; nycti- + -tropic

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nyctitropic

When a pulvinus is present, the nyctitropic movements are continued for a very much longer period than when such do not exist.

From The Power of Movement in Plants by Charles Darwin

Though we cannot account for this fact, we can see that such a stock might readily give birth to species having widely different nyctitropic habits.

From The Power of Movement in Plants by Charles Darwin

That the various nyctitropic movements of leaves result from modified circumnutation has, we think, been clearly shown.

From The Power of Movement in Plants by Charles Darwin

Trifolium repens: circumnutation and nyctitropic movements of a nearly full-grown terminal leaflet, traced on a vertical glass from 7 A.M.

From The Power of Movement in Plants by Charles Darwin

It should be premised that the nyctitropic movements of leaves are easily affected by the conditions to which the plants have been subjected.

From The Power of Movement in Plants by Charles Darwin