nyctitropic

[nik-ti-trop-ik, -troh-pik]

adjective Botany.

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

Origin of nyctitropic

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

Related formsnyc·tit·ro·pism

[nik-ti-truh-piz-uh m] /nɪkˈtɪ trəˌpɪz əm/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for nyctitropism

Historical Examples of nyctitropism

This will explain why attempts at explanation of the phenomenon of nyctitropism had hitherto proved so baffling.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919
Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

British Dictionary definitions for nyctitropism

nyctitropism

noun

a tendency of some plant parts to assume positions at night that are different from their daytime positions

Derived Formsnyctitropic (ˌnɪktɪˈtrɒpɪk), adjective

Word Origin for nyctitropism

C19: nyct-, from Greek nukt-, nux night + -tropism

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012