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Thigmotropism occurs due to unilateral growth inhibition. In twining and tendrilled plants, the growth rate on the side which is being touched is slower than on the side opposite the touch. The resultant growth pattern is to curl around the object which is touching the plant.

Roots also rely on touch to navigate their way through the soil. Generally, roots have a negative touch response, meaning when they feel an object, they grow away from it. This allows the roots to go through the soil with minimum resistance. Because of this behavior, roots are said to be negatively thigmotropic.

I’m tucking this new word into my vocabulary pocket for a future scrabble game.

Excuse me while I wax lyrical about plants: carnauba wax is obtained from the fronds of the carnauba palm (Copernicia prunifera) of Brazil. Valued for its hardness and high melting temperature, carnauba wax is employed as a vegan food-grade polish and as a hardening or gelling agent in a number of products. Despite the widespread adoption of cheaper synthetics, it is still common as a component of certain furniture, leather, car, and shoe polishes and is used in cosmetics such as lipsticks. It is also used as a polish for candies and medicinal pills, as a thickener for solvents and oils, and as a hardener for printing inks.

P.S. So fun to actually see stomata with my microscope. They’re not just simple holes! They have guard cells that open and close the holes. Very cool.

When I get curious about something I have previously taken for granted, my little mind is blown by all the things I do not know.