Root, in botany, that part of a vascular plant normally underground.

Its primary functions are

anchorage of the plant, absorption of water and dissolved minerals and conduction of these to
the stem, and storage of reserve foods. The root differs from the stem mainly by lacking leaf
scars and buds, having a root cap, and having branches that originate from internal tissue rather
than from buds.


Video showing how roots take up substances from the soil via osmosis, diffusion, and active transport.Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc.

Root
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RELATED TOPICS

 Plant
 Tree
 Taproot
 Root pressure
 Haustorium
 Knee
 Rootstock
 Fibrous root system
 Root tip
 Lateral root

Types Of Roots And Root Systems

The primary root, or radicle, is the first organ to appear when a seed germinates. It grows
downward into the soil, anchoring the seedling.
In gymnosperms and dicotyledons (angiosperms with two seed leaves), the radicle becomes
a taproot. It grows downward, and secondary roots grow laterally from it to form a taproot
system. In some plants, such as carrots and turnips, the taproot also serves as food storage.
Two types of root system: (left) the fibrous roots of grass and (right) the fleshy taproot of a sugar beet.Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc.

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angiosperm: Roots

The root apical meristem, or root apex, is a small region at the tip of a root in which all

cells are…

Grasses and other monocotyledons (angiosperms with a single seed leaf) have a fibrous root
system, characterized by a mass of roots of about equal diameter. This network of roots does not
arise as branches of the primary root but consists of many branching roots that emerge from the
base of the stem.
Some roots, called adventitious roots, arise from an organ other than the root—usually a stem,
sometimes a leaf. They are especially numerous on underground stems, such as rhizomes, corms,
and tubers, and make it possible to vegetatively propagate many plants from stem or leaf
cuttings. Certain adventitious roots, known as aerial roots, either pass for some distance through
the air before reaching the soil or remain hanging in the air. Some of these, such as those seen
in corn (maize), screw pine, and banyan, eventually assist in supporting the plant in the soil. In
many epiphytic plants, such as various orchids and Tillandsia species, aerial roots are the
primary means of attachment to non-soil surfaces such as other plants and rocks.

aerial rootBanyan tree (Ficus species) with aerial roots emerging from the branches.© Andrey Sliozberg/Fotolia

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A number of other specialized roots exist among vascular plants. Pneumatophores, commonly
found in mangrove species that grow in saline mud flats, are lateral roots that grow upward out
of the mud and water to function as the site of oxygen intake for the submerged primary root
system. The roots of certain parasitic plants are highly modified into haustoria, which embed into
the vascular system of the host plant to feed the parasite. The nodular roots of many members of
the pea family (Fabaceae) host symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and many plant roots also
form intricate associations with mycorrhizal soil fungi; a number of non-photosynthetic
mycoheterotrophic plants, such as Indian pipe, rely exclusively on these fungi for nutrition.
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 

Pneumatophores of the black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) encrusted with salt and a young seedling projecting
above the surface of the water.Thomas Eisner

The roots of an Austrian winter pea plant (Pisum sativum) with nodules harbouring nitrogen-fixing bacteria
(Rhizobium). Root nodules develop as a result of a symbiotic relationship between rhizobial bacteria and the root
hairs of the plant.John Kaprielian, The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers
Morphology And Growth
Roots grow in length only from their ends. The very tip of the root is covered by a thimble-
shaped root cap, which serves to protect the growing tip as it makes its way through the soil. Just
behind the root cap lies the apical meristem, a tissue of actively dividing cells. Some of the cells
produced by the apical meristem are added to the root cap, but most of them are added to the
region of elongation, which lies just above the meristematic region. It is in the region of
elongation that growth in length occurs. Above this elongation zone lies the region of maturation,
where the primary tissues of the root mature, completing the process of cell differentiation that
actually begins in the upper portion of the meristematic region.

Apical meristems(Left) The shoot apical meristem of Hypericum uralum appears at the topmost aspect of the stem.
Immediately behind the apical meristem are three regions of primary meristematic tissues. (Right) The root apical
meristem appears immediately behind the protective root cap. Three primary meristems are clearly visible just
behind the apical meristem.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The primary tissues of the root are, from outermost to innermost, the epidermis, the cortex, and
the vascular cylinder. The epidermis is composed of thin-walled cells and is usually only one cell
layer thick. The absorption of water and dissolved minerals occurs through the epidermis, a
process greatly enhanced in most land plants by the presence of root hairs—slender, tubular
extensions of the epidermal cell wall that are found only in the region of maturation. The
absorption of water is chiefly via osmosis, which occurs because (1) water is present in higher
concentrations in the soil than within the epidermal cells (where it contains salts, sugars, and
other dissolved organic products) and (2) the membrane of the epidermal cells is permeable to
water but not to many of the substances dissolved in the internal fluid. These conditions create an
osmotic gradient, whereby water flows into the epidermal cells. This flow exerts a force,
called root pressure, that helps drive the water through the roots. Root pressure is partially
responsible for the rise of water in plants, but it cannot alone account for the transport of water to
the top of tall trees.
root in cross sectionCross section of a typical root, showing the primary xylem and the primary phloem arranged in
a central cylinder.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The cortex conducts water and dissolved minerals across the root from the epidermis to the
vascular cylinder, whence it is transported to the rest of the plant. The cortex also stores food
transported downward from the leaves through the vascular tissues. The innermost layer of the
cortex usually consists of a tightly packed layer of cells, called the endodermis, which regulates
the flow of materials between the cortex and the vascular tissues.
The vascular cylinder is interior to the endodermis and is surrounded by the pericycle, a layer of
cells that gives rise to branch roots. The conductive tissues of the vascular cylinder are usually
arranged in a star-shaped pattern. The xylem tissue, which carries water and dissolved
minerals, comprises the core of the star; the phloem tissue, which carries food, is located in small
groups between the points of the star.
The older roots of woody plants form secondary tissues, which lead to an increase in girth. These
secondary tissues are produced by the vascular cambium and the cork cambium. The former
arises from meristematic cells that lie between the primary xylem and phloem. As it develops,
the vascular cambium forms a ring around the primary vascular cylinder. Cell divisions in the
vascular cambium produce secondary xylem (wood) to the inside of the ring and secondary
phloem to the outside. The growth of these secondary vascular tissues pushes the pericycle
outward and splits the cortex and epidermis. The pericycle becomes the cork cambium,
producing cork cells (outer bark) that replace the cortex and epidermis.