When I was in grad school (back in the stone ages), we were told that plants do not produce hormones, but growth regulators. Since their mechanisms of action are very different than those of animal hormones & plants do not have true circulatory or nervous systems, we should not call auxins, gibberellins, etc. hormones. Now that I am TEACHING plant science, I want to get some feedback: Is it just semantics, or is it incorrect to call these plant-produced substances hormones? Thanks, David
I'd probably say it's just semantics, I call them both. But in the case of animal hormones, it's a chem. signal from one place targeting another. The ones in plants don't really have a target, they just effect what is there, so I guess hormones isn't as correct as growth regulators.
