plant hormone

views updated

plant hormone (phytohormone) A compound that is synthesized by a plant, but is not a nutrient, coenzyme, or detoxification product, and which regulates growth, differentiation, or other specific physiological processes. It is classically defined as being ‘made at one site and functioning at another’; but in fact it is made by various tissues, transported actively or passively and affects most tissues within the plant.

More From encyclopedia.com