Vedaniti,
Lear UNE Online
Parts of Plants
Join Vedantu’s FREE Mastercalss Join now
What are Plants?
As collective members of the ecosystem, we all come in contact with
plants in our daily lives. Plants form the most vital and most essential
components of our environment. Plants, just like human beings, are
living organisms that require food, water, and sunlight to live. Moreover,
like human beings, they grow old and die, they are made up of cells
and most importantly, they are equally reactive. Just like human
beings, their physical structure also consists of different parts. Each of
those parts has a separate function to fulfil. Without those parts, it
would not be possible for a plant to live.
The above discussion is bound to give rise to an important question-
Where do plants come from? The answer to this question is seeds
Plants basically germinate from seeds by getting the right amount of
air, water, and sunlight. Another essential question about plants would
be — What do plants need to grow? At the very basic level, the answer
would be the three most important components for any living being to
survive- air, water, and sunlight. However, the right proportion of each
of the following components is what drives the growth of plants. For
example, when plants are planted in the soil with a proper amount of
exposure to sunlight, then only they can grow.
Any eukaryote belonging to the taxonomic kingdom Plantae is referred
to as a plant. Plants are embryophytes, which include vascular plants,
liverworts, hornworts, and mosses in the strictest meaning. Green
algae were considered a plant in certain less strict references. Green
algae include both unicellular and multicellular species with
chlorophylls and call walls.
Plant EcologyVedaniti,
eam UNE Online
Plants can synthesize their own food by combining light energy,
atmospheric carbon dioxide, and hydrogen atoms. Nonetheless, the
waste that animals exhale during breathing is one source of CO,. They
give off oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis in exchange
Animals, like other aerobic species, require oxygen to survive. Other
essential nutnents are obtained by plants from dissolving minerals in
the soil. They take them in through their roots. Calcium, magnesium,
nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur are some of the key
nutrients they get from the soil. Plants can absorb boron, chloride,
copper, iron, manganese, and molyodenum as micronutrients. As a
result, the breakdown of dead plant parts, or the entire plant, results in
the return of vital minerals and chemicals to the Earth
Different Parts of a Plant
Before we get into the details, first we must be aware of the similarities
between plants and human beings. As we have already established,
plants are composed of various parts- a fact similar to human beings
who are also made up of different body parts. Just like each body part
of a human being has a different role to play, each part of a plant
exhibits @ unique role that stimulates the growth of plants. Some of the
most important parts of plants include roots, stems, leaves, flowers,
fruit, and seeds. A detailed description of each of the parts of plants is
mentioned below:
Image illustrating the parts of plants
Roots
Roots are the most important part of a plant as they are responsible for
transferring the necessary nutrients to the plant. They are the agents
responsible for delivering water and minerals to the plants. Besides
that, they are also the active support system of plants without which
the plants would fail to stick to the soil. Moreover, they are also
responsible for saving up food for later use for the plants.Vedaniti,
Lear UNE Online
Absorption of water and nutrients from the soil, appropriate anchorage
of plant parts, storage of reserve food material, and synthesis of plant
growth regulators are the key tasks of the root system. The root cap is
a thimble-like structure that covers the root at its tip. It shields the root's
fragile apex as it travels through the soil. Carrot, tumip, and sweet
potato adventitious roots are tapped, swelled, and stored. Prop roots
are the hanging structures that hold a banyan tree. Similarly, maize and
sugarcane stems have supporting roots that emerge from the lower
nodes of the stem. Stilt roots are what they're called. Many roots
emerge from the ground and grow vertically upwards in some plants,
such as Rhizophora in swampy environments. Pneumatophores are
roots that aid in the acquisition of oxygen for breathing
(Image will be uploaded soon)
Stems
Stems are also support systems for the plants. Their main function is to
act as delivery agents for the nutrients and water stored in the roots
and transfer them to the other plant parts in the form of glucose. Stems
also transfer food from the leaves to the other parts of the plant.
Potato, ginger, turmeric, zaminkand, and colocasia underground stems
have been engineered to store food. Arid-climate plants change their
stems into flattened (Opuntia) or fleshy cylindrical (Euphorbia) forms.
They have chlorophyll and are capable of photosynthesis.
Some plants, such as grass and strawberry, stretch underground stems
to new niches, and when older sections die, new plants emerge.
(Image will be uploadede soon)
LeavesVedaniti,
Lear UNE Online
Leaves are a fundamental part of a plant as all the necessary food for
the plants is stored in the leaves. A special part about leaves is that
they are designed for the process of photosynthesis which contributes
to the process of making food in the leaves. Shoot apical meristems
give rise to leaves. At the node, the leaf develops and bears a bud in
its axil. Later on, the axillary bud develops into a branch. The leaf base,
petiole, and lamina are the three primary sections of a normal leaf. Tho
petiole aids in keeping the blade lit. Leaf-blades flap in the breeze,
cooling the leaf and delivering fresh air to the surface, thanks to long
thin flexible petioles. The leaf blade, or lamina, is the extended green
section of the leaf with veins and veinlets
(Image will be uploaded soon)
Flowers
Flowers are known as the reproductive products of plants. They are
mostly responsible for producing fruits. The process is like this- the
ovules present in the flowers get fertilized and produce fruit. They also
contain pollen which helps in the pollination of the flower. After the
combined process of fertilization and pollination, the ovules get
transformed into fruit. Flowers offer an almost infinite variety of
combinations in terms of colour, size, form, and anatomical
arrangement. The essential organs of reproduction (stamens and
pistils) and usually ancillary organs (sepals and petals) are carried on
the floral axis of each flower. The latter would function to both attract
pollination insects and preserve the vital organs.
(Image will be uploaded soon)
Fruits
Fruits are the products of reproduction in plants. The most essential
component from which reproduction starts, that is the seed, is present
in tho fruit. Therefore, they act as a protective layer for seeds. A fruit’s
primary role is to disperse seeds and allow the plant to reproduce. As a
rosult, regardless of whether the fruit is edible, sweet, or soft, all
flowering plants produce fruitVedaniti,
eam UNE Online
(image wil! pe upioaaea soon)
Seeds
Seeds are the main agents for reproduction. They can be found most
commonly in fruits irom where they germinate and develop into new
plants. Essentially, a seed is a microscopic underdeveloped plant (the
embryo) that is protected by a protective covering for its early
development following germination, either alone or in the presence of
stored food (the testa). Seeds are ideally equipped to execute a wide
range of functions, the relationships between which are not always
obvious: multiplication, perennation (surviving stressful seasons such
as winter), dormancy (2 condition of halted development), and
dissemination.
(Image will be uploaded soon)
Parts of Plants and Their Functions
* The Function of Roots:
Roots have the most crucial function of absorbing water and
minerals from the soil. Another of their most fundamental
functions is to act 2s a support system for the plant so that it
stands upright on the ground. Other secondary functions of roots
include storing food for future use and regulating the growth of
plants
* The Function of Stems:
The function of the stem is to produce fruit, flowers, and leaves.
A primary function of the stem Is to provide @ foundational
structure and protection to the plant. Another notable function of
the stem is to aid in the vegetative reproduction of plants. Stems
protect the plants from grazing animals by transforming their
axillary buds into thoms. in hot and humid areas like deserts,
there are a few plants whose stems are capable of transforming
themselves into broad and pudgy structures. Such stems are
capable of storing a huge amount of food for future purposes
and preventing the excess loss of water.Vedaniti,
eam UNE Online
The most unique qualities of stems are as follows
Support/Foundation:
A vital function of the stem is to act as a medium to all the important
parts of a plant like buds, flowers, leaves, and fruits for the plant. They
are the main foundational aspect of the plant that makes it stand firm
and erect in the soil
Conveying and Hauling:
One of the primary functions of the stem is to transport food materials
and nutrients that are stored in the roots to the remaining parts of the
plant. They also transport the food prepared by the leaves to the rest of
the plant body
Storehouse:
Stems are the storehouse of food prepared by the leaves. Stems store
the food prepared by the leaves in the form of starch
Procreation:
Vegetative reproduction is one of the primary roles of a stem
+ The Function of Leaves:
Since plants contain chlorophyll, most of the food required by the
plants is prepared by them with the help of water, sunlight and
carbon dioxide. The primary functions of leaves are listed below
Preparation of Food Through Photosynthesis:
The leaves of plants get their required air, water, and sunlight and
prepare the food needed for plants through the process of
photosynthesis
Transpiration:
The process of transpiration is one of the fundamental functions of
leaves. Transpiration is the process in which excess water is removed
from the plants through the stomataVedaniti,
Lear UNE Online
Procreation:
Leaves sometimes play a role in reproduction as well. There are some
particular leaves like Bryophyllum that reproduce new leaves.
* The function of seed
They aid in the germination of new plants. Food reservoirs in the
form of cotyledons and endosperm are found in the seeds. The
embryo inside is protected by the seed coat, which is protective
in nature,
Plants are vital components of the environment that require food
to live just like human beings. A plant is comprised of different
parts where each part has a unique function to perform. The
different parts of a plant include roots, stems, leaves, flowers,
seeds, and fruits. Roots have the function of absorbing water
and minerals from the soil whereas the primary functions of
stems are supporting, transporting, storing, and reproducing
Leaves form a vital component of plants as food for plants is
prepared in them. Leaves are capable of performing
photosynthesis and transpiration
Last updated date: 20th + Total views: > Views today:
Jul 2023 396.6k 10.38kVedaniti,
Lear UNE Online
FAQs on Parts of Plants
1. What are the four essential ingredients for plants to
produce food?
Chlorophyll may employ carbon dioxide, water, nutrients, and
sunshine energy to create food for the plant. Photosynthesis is
the name for this method. Plants emit oxygen into the
atmosphere during the photosynthesis process. Everyone,
including humans ond animals, requires oxygen to live.
2. What are the micro and macronutrients in plants? v