1. Plants 2c:
Plant Parts
ROOTS & STEMS
PPt. by, Robin D. Seamon

2. ROOTS:

3. ROOTS:
Activity
•Root Hunt Lab
•Grow a potato
•Grow seeds in a bag
•Carrot Top growing
•Root a cutting in water

5. ROOTS:
•hold the plant in the ground (anchor)
•Stop erosion
•Take in water & minerals for the plant
•Parts of a root:
Root cap: thin covering, protects root tip
Root hairs: threadlike parts of cells on surface of root
Phloem: path that food from leaves take down the
plant to roots
Xylem: path that water & minerals take up the plant
Cortex: stores food in roots & stems

6. dandelion
foxtail
Taproot Fibrous Root
Grows straight down Grows more shallow,
with a few side ‘hairy’; many fine-
branches branching roots

7. Tuber: modified plant structure enlarged
to hold nutrients
•stem tuber, (onion)
•root tuber, (sweet potato)
•potato tuber (potato)

8. •Special kinds of ‘roots’: Link
•Bulbs: underground shoot
that stores food; roots grow
underneath (stem tuber)
Epiphyte: strangler
Buttress Roots
grow from the Fig
trunk for added
support

9. Mangrove roots grow
negative geotropism
(up!) and then back
down.

11. See LINK

12. In the Garden:
(Special roots &
stems)

13. Carrots and Beetroot
Carrots and beetroot are thickened tap
roots which have very few lateral roots.
Both are biennials i.e. they only grow for two
years. In the first year they store food
manufactured by their leaves in their tap
root, and in the second year they use the
stored food to produce flowers (called
bolting). We harvest the carrots or
beetroots before they bolt.

14. Ginger
Ginger is a rhizome - a type of stem which
grows horizontally just under the surface of
the ground. Leaves grow from buds at the
nodes on the stem. The stem is thick and
fleshy and stores reserve food for the
plant.

15. Potatoes
This is likely to trick many people. Potatoes
are not roots but underground storage
stems which are formed when the growth
point of an underground stem, a rhizome,
almost stops lengthening and increases
greatly in thickness. This forms an
underground storage organ which stores
large quantities of starch.

16. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are the greatly
thickened roots of the fibrous root
system of the sweet potato plant
which contain reserves of starch.

17. Onions and Garlic
Onions and garlic are bulbs. A bulb
is an underground storage organ
which consists of a very short stem
on which fleshy bases of the leaves
store food for the plant.

18. STEM:
PPt. by, Robin D. Seamon

19. STEM:
Activity
•Stem Hunt Lab
•Stem Rubbing
•Flower Chains
•Celery Dying
•Tropism experiments

20. •Woody stems & soft stems
•Carry water & minerals up and food down
•Hold the plant up (leaves & flowers)
•A tree’s stem is called a trunk
•Some grow underground (potato)

21. TROPISMS:
movement of a plant
Positive tropism (moving toward the stimulus)
Negative tropism (moving away from the
stimulus)
•Geotropism: all above ground plant parts grow
away from gravity (up)
•Phototropism- all stems bend towards the sunlight-
•thigmotropism: response to physical contact-
Vines: special kind of ‘climbing’ stem
•Some grow along the ground (runners) like
strawberries VIDEO Creeper vines climb ADVANCE

22. http://cccmkc.edu.hk/~sbj-biology/AL%20BIO/Continuity%20of%20life%20growth
%20and%20development/Tropism%20%28phototropism%29%20experiment.htm
Phototropism
BACK

23. http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/102421/enlarge
geotropism
BACK

24. http://marksteinmetz.photoshelter.com/image/I0000kfPWbfKSAFE
Thigmotropism
BACK

25. •Vine:
A special
kind of stem
that grows up
and
sideways; it
climbs
Runner
A runner produces an
identical plant to the
mother
BACK

27. Header:
PLANT LABS:
1. Leaves: Identify & graph your collection into journal; view & draw fern spores;
Answer questions in Plant Journal.
2. Flowers: identify & draw 5 local spring flowers on white paper. Glue into journal.
Roots: identify fibrous & taproots; draw 7 label root parts in journal; Answer
questions in Plant Journal.
3. Seeds: seed dissection: label 3 parts of the seed into journal; observe pine nuts
in pinecones-- sketch into journal; Answer questions in Plant Journal.
4. Stems: Compare three different types of bark. Notice the color & texture. How
do the grains run? Is there a pattern? Create a bark rubbing with a dark crayon
(rubbed sideways). Sketch the three specimens.

28. Header:
LAB: ROOTS
RULES: BE GENTLE WITH THE ROOTS. They are wilting!
• What is the purpose of a root for a plant? ____________________,
__________________________________
• What part of the root that carries water up the plant? _____________
• What part of the root carries water & nutrients down the plant? _____________
• Sketch & label the roots you have in your station into your journal. (root hairs,
rootcap, fibrous root, taproot)
• What is the difference between a fibrous root and
a taproot? ________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
• Name some roots that we eat. ________________________
_________________________________________________

29. Header:
LAB: STEM
RULES: BE GENTLE WITH THE BARK SPECIMENS.
• What is the purpose of a stem for a plant? ______________________________
• Compare three different types of bark. Notice the color & texture. How do the
grains run? Is there a pattern? Sketch the three specimens.
• What is a vine?___________________________________
• What is a runner? __________________________________