Nastic Movement

noun

: movement of a flat plant part (as a leaf or bud scale) that is oriented in respect to the
plant rather than an external source of stimulation, is brought about by disproportionate
growth or increase of turgor in the tissues of one surface of the part, and typically
involves a curling or bending outward or inward of the whole part in a direction away
from the more active surface
tropism
1 of 2

noun

tro·pism ˈtrō-ˌpi-zəm
1
a
: involuntary orientation by an organism or one of its parts that involves turning or
curving by movement or by differential growth and is a positive or negative response to
a source of stimulation
b
: a reflex reaction involving a tropism
Nastic Movement in Plants
Leave a Comment / Botany / By Supriya N
Nastic movement is another form of curvature movement shown by some members of
plants. It occurs in response to diffuse external stimuli. A stimulus that does not affect
the plant’s orientation is called a diffuse stimulus. The direction of response in the nastic
movement is independent of stimuli direction.
Nastic movement is also referred to as “Nasties”. External stimuli like light and touch
are the significant factors responsible for nastic activity. Thus, plants show nasties in
response to external stimuli but not towards the direction of the stimulus.
Therefore, it is a non-directional movement. Nastic movement may or may not show
growth movement. This post mainly discusses the definition, key points, mechanism
and types of nastic movement with examples and diagrams.
Content: Nastic Movement in Plants
1. Definition
2. Mechanism
3. Key Points
4. Types
5. Conclusion
Definition of Nastic Movement
It refers to the reversible movement in a plant caused due to the elastic changes in the
size of special motor cells within the plant’s tissue. It is another type through which
higher plants show curvature movement due to cell size and turgor
pressure variations. The plant’s response to the external stimulus is generally non-
directional. Alternations in the turgor pressure facilitate nastic movements like the
opening and folding of leaves and petals in response to external stimuli.

Mechanism of Nastic Movement

Turgor pressure also determines the rigidity of plant cells, depending upon the cell’s
water content. Therefore, a cell can be turgid or flaccid, depending upon the solute
and solvent concentration inside and outside the cell.
Special motor cells, i.e. extensor and flexor cells within the pulvinus, contract and
relax through the processes like exosmosis and endosmosis. Exosmosis makes the cell
flaccid and causes the folding or closure of leaves. Oppositely, endosmosis makes the
cell turgid and causes the straightening of leaflets.
Extensor cells experience high turgor during the leaflet opening and low turgor during
the closure of leaflets. Unlike extensor cells, flexor cells go through reverse changes.
The orientation of extensor and flexor cells may lie in the leaf’s abaxial or adaxial
surface, depending on the type of plant.

Closure of leaves or petals occurs when water, potassium and chloride ions exit the cell
due to the contraction of extensor cells or expansion of flexor cells. Oppositely, the
opening of leaves or petals occurs when potassium and chloride ions accompanied by
water enter the cell due to the expansion of extensor cells or the contraction of flexor
cells.
Pinnules or leaflets open in the case of turgid ventral cells and flaccid dorsal cells.
Pinnules or leaflets fold inwards in the case of less turgid ventral cells and more turgid
dorsal cells.
Key Points
1. Nastic movement in plants mainly occurs in response to external stimuli. However,
plants may also show nastism in response to internal growth stimuli.
2. “Turgor movement” and “Nasties” are the alternative terms of nastic movement.
3. Light and contact are the typical external stimuli to which certain plants show
nasties. In contrast, a plant’s growth and movement response to internal hormones
and enzyme systems serve as internal growth stimuli.
4. The development of bud to its opening and finally to its shedding
shows autonomic or internally directed nastic movement.
5. Closure and opening of leaves and petals in response to the changes in external
stimuli like light, temperature, contact etc., shows paratonic or externally directed
nastic movement.
6. Unlike tropical movement, nastic activity in plants elicits a uniform response,
thereby affecting the whole plant organ.
7. Nastic movements are relatively faster than tropic movements.
8. Photonastic, nictynastic and thermonastic are three types of plant’s movement that
respond to the light stimulus.
9. Haptonastic and Seismonastic are the two types of nastic movements that respond
to mechanical stimuli like contact, heavy wind etc.
10. The plant’s flat structures, like leaves and petals, mainly undergo nastic movement.
Types of Nastic Movement
Depending on the stimuli, turgor and growth movements are common nasties seen in
some plants. Plants undergo turgor movement through changes in the turgor pressure
and cell’s size. Photonasty, thermonasty, nyctinasty, seismonasty and haptonasty are
the turgor movements. In contrast, plants also show nastic growth movements like
hyponasty, epinasty and circumnutation.
Turgor Movements
We could demonstrate the pattern of turgor movements by taking examples of each
type.
Photonasty: Alternations in the light stimulus induces this kind of movement in plants.
Flowers and leaves exhibit photonasty through their cell’s opening and closing action.
Leaves of Mimosa pudica remain straight during the daytime and begin to bend from
the evening.

Thermonasty: Temperature variation induces such movement in plants. Here, flowers

and leaves tend to open or close in response to a rise or drop in the temperature.
Opening of Mirabilis jalapa is an example of thermonastic movement that starts
blooming late afternoon or evening in response to a temperature drop and closes by
mid-morning. The blooming of tulip flowers as the temperature rises is another
example of thermonastic movement.

Nyctinasty: Alternations of the day and night temperature induce nyctinasty or sleeping
movement in plants. Clover leaves remain straight during the day and begin to bend in
the evening.

Seismonasty: Physical contact and mechanical disturbances like shaking, raindrops

etc., is responsible for such movement in plants. Stigmas, stamens and leaves undergo
seismonasty. Folding of Mimosa pudica leaves in response to touch.

Haptonasty: Tactile stimulus or sense of touch is responsible for such movement in

some carnivorous plants such as Venus flytrap that respond instantly to the touch of
any insect that may serve as a meal for that plant.
Nastic Growth Movements
Epinasty, hyponasty and circumnutation are the major growth movements that plants
generally show.
Epinasty refers to the downward-bending of petals from growth at the top, for example,
the opening of buds. Hyponasty is just the reverse of hyponasty, in which upward
growth occurs from the bottom to the top. Here, the bud stays closed. Leaves and
petals generally exhibit epinasty and hyponasty movements. Growing stems usually
show circumnutation, in which stems produce helical coiling around suitable solid
surfaces.

Conclusion
Plants show specific movements that can be either growth or non-growth movement
and direction or non-directional movement. Nastic movement generally shows non-
directional movements like turgor and nastic growth movements.
Higher plants exhibit movement of curvature that is categorized into two forms, tropism
and nastism. Tropism in plants is a directional growth, whereas nastism is a
phenomenon independent of the direction of external stimuli.