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LBYPLNT (General Botany Laboratory)

ACTIVITY 9: THE ROOT

Introduction

For most of the plants, there is no life without soil and no soil without life. Plant roots
play an important link between the two. The roots help develops the soil and the
nutrients and water in the soil sustain the organisms.

The root is usually found underground. It is the continuation of the main axis of the
plant. Its main function is to absorb water and minerals and to anchor the plant to the
soil. The root varies in structure but is generally less complex than the stem. Different
groups of plant have different root systems and internal structures.

II. Objectives

At the end of this exercise, the student will be able to:

1. distinguish between the different types of root systems and

2. determine the external and internal parts of the primary and secondary root.

III. Methods

SECTION A. THE MAJOR TYPES OF ROOT SYSTEMS

Two types of root systems are commonly distinguished as fibrous and tap roots.
Fibrous root systems are composed of large numbers of roots nearly equal in size. A
tap root system is one in which the primary root remains the largest and a number of
smaller secondary roots are formed from it.
Some roots develop from stems or leaves and are almost similar in sizes and growth
patterns. These are adventitious roots that develop from plant parts other than the
radicle of seeds.

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Uproot at least 3 weeds (grass and broad-leaved) from your surroundings. Take a
photograph of the entire plants with their spread-out roots. Examine and classify their
roots systems. Complete the table below.

Types of root systems:

Name and Image of Specimen Type of Root System

1. Do most trees have tap root systems or fibrous root systems? Defend your answer.

2. Which type of root system is better adapted for absorption and prevention of soil
erosion? Defend your answer.

3. Which type of root system is better adapted for penetration to deeper sources of soil
water? Defend your answer.

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4. What are adventitious roots? Under which type of root system can adventitious roots
be classified?

SECTION B. ROOT HAIRS

The root system of a plant begins its development from the radicle of the embryo in the
seed. The radicle grows out of the seed after the seed has absorbed water. This is the
primary root of the new plant. The tip of the root is covered by a mass of loose cells
called the root cap. Next to the root cap, towards the shoot is the meristematic area of
the root. Epidermal outgrowths just above this area are root hairs.

Label the root hairs in the image below.

www.mcqplus.com

1. What is the function of the root hairs?

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SECTION C. THE REGIONS OF THE ROOT TIP

The growing region of the root is the root apical meristem. The root tip consists of the
root cap, the region of the apical meristem, the region of elongation and the region of
maturation.

At the extreme tip is the root cap, a zone of somewhat loosely arranged corky cells.

The region of the apical meristem is behind the root cap. Its cells are more densely
packed and arranged in orderly rows parallel to the long axis of the root. Many of these
cells are almost square in outline. This is the region you examined during the exercise
on mitosis.

The root apical meristem will develop into primary tissues which are partly differentiated
cells. These tissues are: 1) the protoderm which will become the epidermis, 2) the
procambium which will become the vascular or conducting tissues and 3) the ground
meristem which will become the cortex and pith.

The region of elongation is just behind the apical meristem. The cells have enlarged
chiefly in length. Most of the elongation is due to internal pressures built up by an
increase of water within the large vacuoles that occupy most of the cell.

The region of maturation contains enlarged cells that have now developed certain
structural features and you can begin to see some differences among them. The cells
are organized into three tissue systems which are based on topography. These tissue
systems are:
a. the vascular tissue system, which usually appears as the darker central
portion. Here you may be able to see some xylem (water conducting cells) that
look like vertical rows of loose spirals (because of the spiral thickenings of the
walls). You may also see the phloem (food conducting cells) although at this
layer, the sieve tubes (which comprise the phloem) may not yet be
distinguishable;
b. the dermal tissue system from which will arise the epidermis, the layer of cells
at the surface and from which root hairs arise. Sometimes in the process of
making the slide, the root hairs are destroyed; and
c. the fundamental or ground tissue system called cortex is the zone between
the epidermis and the vascular cylinder.

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Identify and label the following parts in the onion root tip:

Root cap Zone of elongation/differentiation

Apical meristem/zone of meristematic activity Zone of maturation/specialization

University of Sydney
Allium cepa root, l.s.

1. What is the function of the root cap?

2. In what region can you see the different stages of mitosis?

3. Does the elongation of the cells in the region of elongation increase root length?

4. Does the elongation of the cells in the region of elongation exert force that pushes the
tip of the root downward or forward?

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SECTION D. THE PRIMARY TISSUES AND INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF ROOTS

The primary tissues and internal structure of roots can best be seen in a cross-section
of a specimen. The outermost layer of cells is the epidermis. The inner core is the stele.
The wide zone between the epidermis and the stele is called the cortex.

The epidermis of the root is usually uncutinized and permeable to water. Some
epidermal cells develop into root hairs especially in the region of maturation.
Cells of the cortex are thin-walled and often contain starch grains. Parenchyma cells are
loosely arranged in this region of the cortex. Thus, these cells are also called
parenchyma tissue of the cortex. Water and dissolved solutes easily move between
cortical cells in the intercellular spaces. The innermost layer of the cortex is called the
endodermis. The radial walls of the endodermal cells become impregnated with a
"diffusion proof" waxy substance called suberin. This layer of suberin forms the
Casparian strip. Focus on the endodermis and take note of the Casparian strip.
The stele is composed of many tissues. The outermost layer of the stele is in contact
with the endodermis and is called the pericycle. The pericycle consists of thin-walled
cells that are usually only one cell wide. These cells retain the ability to resume active
cell division. The pericycle gives rise to the lateral roots of plants.
The vascular tissues occupy the center of the root. Vascular tissues conduct water and
minerals and food in the plant and are found throughout the plant body. The vascular
tissues are of two types: xylem and phloem.
The innermost tissue which forms the star-shaped core of thick-walled empty cells is the
xylem. The xylem consists of vessels (and tracheids in some plants) which are the main
conducting cells and are sclerenchymatous in nature. In three dimension, the xylem is a
cylinder extending the length of the root. In cross-section, it is a mass of cells in the
center of the root. In young dicot roots, the vascular tissue is comprised of 3, 4, or 5
ridges or "arms" reaching the pericycle. Xylem functions as a conductor of water and
dissolved mineral nutrients. The vessels are joined end to end to form the xylem water
tubes.

Most of the cells which lie between the points of the xylem are phloem. These form
semicircular clusters of cells between the ridges or "arms" of the xylem. Phloem
consists of two cell types: sieve tube elements and companion cells. Phloem cells are
thin-walled, living cells and function in the translocation of organic compounds (food)
manufactured by the leaves. Thus, it is parenchymatous in nature.

In monocot roots, the centermost portion is occupied by parenchyma cells and the
tissue is called the pith. The xylem and phloem taken together are called vascular
bundles and are distributed in a ring around the pith.

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Identify and label these parts in monocot roots:

Epidermis Endodermis Xylem Pith

Cortex Casparian strip Phloem
Passage cells

Zea mays root, x.s.

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 Source: http://schulte.faculty.unlv.edu/
Smilax

Identify and label the lateral root.

Source: John Bebbington FRPS, https://www.flickr.com/photos/71183136@N08/6947183226

Zea mays with lateral root

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1. How are lateral roots formed?

Identify and label these parts in dicot roots:

Epidermis Endodermis Xylem

Cortex Casparian strip Phloem
Passage cells

Source: http://schulte.faculty.unlv.edu/
Ranunculus young root, x.s.

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Tabulate the similarities and differences between a monocot root and an
herbaceous dicot root.

Characteristic Monocot Root Herbaceous Dicot Root

SECTION E. THE SECONDARY TISSUES OF ROOTS IN WOODY DICOTS

Some dicots, when young have structures such as epidermis, cortex, endodermis,
pericycle, a cylinder of phloem cells, an inactive vascular cambium, then a thicker
cylinder of xylem As it gets older, additional layers of phloem and xylem develop from
the vascular cambium. This pushes the older xylem towards the center, and crushes the
pith. The older phloem is pushed towards the outer layer, crushing the endodermis and
pericycle. This in turn activates the cork cambium which replaces the cortex and
develops younger cells becoming the cork. The tissues which develop from the cork
cambium and the vascular cambium are the secondary tissues.

Identify and label these parts in old woody dicot roots:

Cork Vascular cambium
Cork cambium Secondary xylem
Primary phloem Primary Xylem
Secondary phloem

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 http://botit.botany.wisc.edu
Tilia old root, x.s.

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SECTION F. THE MODIFIED ROOTS

Modification of roots enables some species of plants to survive in a variety of habitats

encompassing numerous environmental conditions, some being quite extreme.

Complete the table below on root modification and function.

Specimens Specific Modification Function

radish

Sugar beet

Pandan

Dendrobium

Kapok

corn

Rhizophora

SECTION G. ANSWER THESE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. New plants can be started from stems cut from mature plants. What makes this
possible?

2. In transplanting (digging up a tree or shrub and replanting it somewhere else), which

particular roots and parts of the roots on the plants are usually damaged?

3. Relate the overall shape of a root to its function and environment.

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Submission Note:
1. Save the document in x.pdf format with the file name:
Section_Group#_ Activity# (ex. N03_Group5_Activity09)

2. Upload the file to the corresponding module under the submission page in the
CANVAS.

Table of Contributions: Indicate the work contribution of the group members below. Member
with no participation will be graded zero (0).

Name Contribution Remarks

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

COPYRIGHT OF THIS MATERIAL (except video links and photos) BELONGS TO:
Biology Department
De La Salle University

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