This plant response by specialized cells is called gravitropism.
Gravitropism is the growth of a plant’s organ in response to gravity. In the root cap of plants, there are specialized cells known as statocytes that contains granules known as statoliths which stimulate the production of auxin; a hormone that is important for controlling plant growth. Plants have the ability to sense gravity with the aid of these specialized cells and plant roots grow downward into the soil while stems grow in the opposite direction.