Growing or moving away from the earth or downward direction, opposite to geotropism.
From Greek apo- (away from) + geo- (earth) + -tropic (turning toward). The term describes the opposite of geotropism, the natural tendency of roots to grow downward.
Plant stems do this amazing thing—they grow away from gravity while roots grow toward it, and scientists needed this word to describe stems essentially 'defying' Earth's pull.
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