The sedimentation of amyloplasts in inverted statocytes of the flower stalk of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber) was followed using light microscopy. Much variety in sedimentation pattern was evident with complete sedimentation occurring in as little as 3–4 min to as much as a few h and individual amyloplasts showing barely perceptible sedimentation or sedimenting at speeds of up to 40 μm min −1 . It was also apparent that amyloplasts were subjected to considerable movement after they had sedimented. Large vacuoles and cytoplasmic streaming in statocytes were confirmed and are considered to greatly influence amy‐loplast sedimentation pattern. The implications of these observations for the starch‐statolith hypothesis of geotropism are discussed.
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Clifford et al. (1980) studied this question.