Plants react quickly and profoundly to changes in their environment. A sudden increase in temperature induces for example differential petiole growth driven upward leaf movement (hyponastic growth) in Arabidopsis thaliana. We show that accessions that face the strongest fluctuations in diurnal temperature in their natural habitat are least sensitive for heat-induced hyponastic growth. This indicates that heat-induced hyponastic growth is a trait subjected to natural selection. The response is induced with kinetics remarkably similar to ethylene- and low light-induced hyponasty in several accessions. Using pharmacological assays, transcript analysis and mutant analyses, we demonstrate that ethylene and the photoreceptor protein Phytochrome B are negative regulators of heat-induced hyponastic growth and that low light, Phytochrome A, auxin, polar auxin transport and abscisic acid are positive regulators of heat-induced hyponastic growth. Furthermore, auxin, auxin polar transport, PhyA, PhyB and Cryptochromes are required for a fast induction of heat-induced hyponastic growth. 10.1104/pp.109.144386