INTRODUCTION TO AGRI-FISHERY ARTS BTVTED 2

LECTURE NOTES 3 APCBA

PLANT PARTS AND ITS FUNCTION
A plant has different parts. The main parts are the roots, stem and the leaves. Each
part has a vital role in the life of a plant. The root absorbs water and different nutrients in
the ground. The roots also establish the plant as foundation. The stem carries the water
and different nutrients from the ground to the leaves. It also supports the foundation.

THE ROOTS
 The main functions of the root system are absorption of water and minerals from the soil,
providing a proper anchorage to the plant parts, storing reserve food material and
synthesis of plant growth regulators.
 In majority of the dicotyledonous plants, the direct elongation of the radicle leads to
the formation of primary root which grows inside the soil. It bears lateral roots of several
orders that are referred to as secondary, tertiary, and so on. The primary roots and its
branches constitute the tap root system.

 In monocotyledonous plants, the primary root is short lived and is replaced by a large
number of roots. These roots originate from the base of the stem and constitute the
fibrous root system.
 In some plants, roots arise from parts of the plant other than the radicle and are called
adventitious roots.
 Tap roots of carrot, turnip and adventitious roots of sweet potato, get swollen and store
food.
 Hanging structures that support a banyan tree are called prop roots.
 Similarly, the stems of maize and sugarcane have supporting roots coming out of the
lower nodes of the stem. These are called stilt roots.
 In some plants such as Rhizophora growing in swampy areas, many roots come out of
the ground and grow vertically upwards. Such roots, called pneumatophores, help to
get oxygen for respiration.

THE STEM
 The stem of a plant is one of two structural parts of a vascular plant (a plant that has
tissues for moving water and nutrients), the other being the root. The stem is the part
above ground which provides support for leaves and buds. It's like the major highway
of a plant, and it's vital for plant life.
 The region of the stem where leaves are born are called nodes while internodes are
the portions between two nodes. Some stems perform the function of storage of food,
support, protection and of vegetative propagation.
 Underground stems of potato, ginger, turmeric, zaminkand, colocasia are modified to
store food in them.
 Stem tendrils which develop from axillary buds, are slender and spirally coiled and
help plants to climb such as in gourds (cucumber, pumpkins, watermelon) and
grapevines.
 Axillary buds of stems may also get modified into woody, straight and pointed thorns.
They protect plants from browsing animals.
INTRODUCTION TO AGRI-FISHERY ARTS BTVTED 2
LECTURE NOTES 3 APCBA
 Some plants of arid regions modify their stems into flattened (Opuntia), or fleshy
cylindrical (Euphorbia) structures. They contain chlorophyll and carry out
photosynthesis.
 Underground stems of some plants such as grass and strawberry, etc., spread to new
niches and when older parts die new plants are formed
THE LEAF
Leaf is a flattened structure of a higher plant, typically green and bladelike, that is
attached to a stem directly or via a stalk.
 Leaves are the main organs of photosynthesis and transpiration.
 Leaves originate from shoot apical meristems.
 Leaf develops at the node and bears a bud in its axil. The axillary bud later develops
into a branch.
 A typical leaf consists of three main parts: leaf base, petiole and lamina.
The petiole help holds the blade to light. Long thin flexible petioles allow leaf blades
to flutter in wind, thereby cooling the leaf and bringing fresh air to leaf surface.
The lamina or the leaf blade is the green expanded part of the leaf with veins and
veinlets. There is, usually, a middle prominent vein, which is known as the midrib.
Veins provide rigidity to the leaf blade and act as channels of transport for water,
minerals and food materials.
Leaf Venation
The arrangement of veins and the veinlets in the lamina of leaf is termed as venation.
When the veinlets form a network, the venation is termed as reticulate. When the veins run
parallel to each other within a lamina, the venation is termed as parallel. Leaves of
dicotyledonous plants generally possess reticulate venation, while parallel venation is the
characteristic of most monocotyledons.
The Flower
The flower is the reproductive unit in the angiosperms. It is meant for sexual
reproduction. Androecium and gynoecium are reproductive organs. When a flower has
both androecium and gynoecium, it is bisexual. A flower having either only stamens or only
carpels is unisexual.
Aestivation: The mode of arrangement of sepals or petals in floral bud with respect
to the other members of the same whorl is known as aestivation.
Parts of a Flower
Androecium
Androecium is composed of stamens. Each stamen which represents the male
reproductive organ consists of a stalk or a filament and an anther. Each anther is usually
bilobed and each lobe has two chambers, the pollen-sacs. The pollen grains are produced
in pollen-sacs. A sterile stamen is called staminode.
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is the female reproductive part of the flower and is made up of one or more
carpels. A carpel consists of three parts namely stigma, style and ovary. After fertilization,
the ovules develop into seeds and the ovary matures into a fruit.
Placentation: The arrangement of ovules within the ovary is known as placentation
INTRODUCTION TO AGRI-FISHERY ARTS BTVTED 2
LECTURE NOTES 3 APCBA
THE FRUIT
The fruit is a characteristic feature of the flowering plants. It is a mature or ripened
ovary, developed after fertilization. If a fruit is formed without fertilization of the ovary, it is
called a parthenocarpic fruit. The ovules after fertilization, develop into seeds.
Transport of Water and Minerals in Plants, Plants absorb water and minerals by the roots.
The roots have root hair. The root hair increases the surface area of the root for the
absorption of water and mineral nutrients dissolved in water. The root hair is in contact
with the water present between the soil particles.
Plants have pipe-like vessels to transport water and nutrients from the soil. The
vessels are made of special cells, forming the vascular tissue. The vascular tissue for the
transport of water and nutrients in the plant is called the xylem. The xylem forms a
continuous network of channels that connects roots to the leaves through the stem and
branches and thus transport water to the entire plant leaves synthesize food. The food has
to be transported to all parts of the plant. This is done by the vascular tissue called the
phloem. Thus, xylem and phloem transport substances in plants.