Dextrorse is a botanical term that describes the characteristic of a plant's growth direction, which is towards the right. The spelling of the word can be explained using IPA phonetic transcription as [dɛkstrɔrs], where "d" represents the voiced dental plosive sound, "ɛ" represents the open-mid front unrounded vowel, "k" represents the voiceless velar plosive sound, "s" represents the voiceless alveolar fricative sound, "t" represents the voiceless alveolar plosive sound, "r" represents the voiced postalveolar approximant sound, and "ɔ" represents the open-mid back rounded vowel.
Dextrorse is an adjective that refers to the directional curvature or winding of a plant or animal structure, particularly in a clockwise or right-handward direction. It is derived from the Latin word "dextrorsum," meaning "to the right."
In botanical terms, dextrorse describes the coiling or twisting pattern of certain plant parts, such as stems, tendrils, or leaves, as they grow or wrap around a support. When a plant exhibits dextrorse growth, its structures tend to turn in a right-hand direction, moving in a clockwise manner when viewed from above. This is commonly observed in climbing plants where tendrils curl in a clockwise direction to latch onto a support or the sun's rays.
The term can also be applied to the anatomical structures of certain animals. For example, in gastropods like snails, dextrorse refers to the natural, right-hand spiral of their shells. This trait is considered the norm in many species of snails, with their shells coiling or spiraling in a clockwise or rightward direction when viewed from the opening.
Overall, dextrorse is an adjective that helps describe the curving or twisting direction of various natural structures in plants and animals, emphasizing a clockwise or right-handward orientation.
Turning downward from left to right, noting a screw or spiral, certain climbing plants, etc. Some of the older botanists used the term in the opposite sense of an upward turn from left to right.
A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
The word "dextrorse" is derived from Latin origins. It comes from the Latin adverb "dextrorsus", which means "rightward" or "toward the right". The Latin word is a combination of two elements: "dexter", meaning "right" or "on the right-hand side", and the adverbial suffix "-orsus", indicating a direction or tendency. In the botanical context, "dextrorse" is used to describe the direction of inherent spiraling or twisting of certain structures, such as the arrangement of hairs, tendrils, or leaf veins that curve or twist towards the right.