What happens to plants on their sides and why?

Question

What happens to the stems of plants placed on their side?

What happens to the roots of plants placed on their side?

What causes the stems and roots to respond in this fashion?

Answer 1

the first 2 questions have akready been answered.

the mechanism behind these is the role played by auxin.now auxion is always synthesized at the apical portions and comes 'downward'.now what regulates this downward movement is questionabkle- it maty be gravity, or it may be some silica crystals called statoliths.this coming down of ausin initself acts asa sensor of direction for the plant to grow in the respective direction, in which roots will always grow downwards and shoots upward.theres an exception, i.e. the apogeotropic roots of mangroves and the coralloid roots of cycas.if u hv any more questuions, feel free 2 email me on [e-mail]

Answer 2

If the stem is still attached to the roots, it will grow towards the sun (phototropism).  This is an evolutionary response to maximize photosynthesis.

Roots will generally grow down in response to gravity (gravitropism).  This is another evolutionary response to maximize resource uptake.