How do creeper plants(vines) get their way up?

Question

The bottle gourd for example, if given something like bamboo screen to climb on seems to know where it is going as it grows, and they will climb exactly where you want them to. Is there an explanation to this.

saffronesque · Accepted Answer

It is due to negative gravitropism.  A hormone called auxin stimulates some cells to elongate while inhibiting other cells due to unequal distribution of the hormone.  As the stem tip elongates, tendrils form and wrap around support structures to support the vine as it extends.  Some plants produce adventitious roots that can attach to surfaces of wood, stone or brick.

? · Answer

Vines like these produce stems called tendrils. These tendrils grow in the direction of a hard surface and when they encounter it they grow around or into the surface to gain a firm anchorage. Once they've got a point of anchorage, the tendrils then coil to pull up the main plant's stem up the the surface. The plant can then grow upwards using the surface to help provide support and to give the plant as much light as it can possibly get.

How do creeper plants(vines) get their way up?

2 Answers