How to distinguish root from rhizome? After all, these plant organs are not only consonant with the names, but also very similar in appearance. This is actually quite simple to do.
How to distinguish a rhizome from a root: biology will tell
To understand this issue, first you need to remember what organs the body of higher plants consists of. This is the shoot and the root. The first of these is the aboveground part. Its components are the stem - the axis of the shoot, on which the leaves and buds are located. This organ is used for air nutrition and vegetative propagation. Under the ground is the root, firmly fixing the plant in the soil.
Plant organs and their modifications
To perform additional functions, plant organs are often modified. For example, cactus leaves turn into thorns in order to reduce evaporation. The situation is different for leeks. Its leaves, on the contrary, accumulate water with nutrients in order to survive periods of cold and drought. How to distinguish the root from the rhizome, if outwardly they are very similar and are underground? To do this, you need to know the structural features of each of them.
Features of the structure of the root
The root is an underground vegetative underground organ of a plant. There are three types of it: main, lateral and subordinate. Their combination forms the root system. It is of several types. In the core, the main root is clearly expressed, from which the lateral ones depart. It is characteristic of plants that need to extract water from great depths. A fibrous grows in a bunch. It consists entirely of adnexal roots, which occupy a large absorption area.
What is a rhizome?
How to distinguish root from rhizome? They both grow underground. However, the latter consists of elongated internodes. Therefore, we can conclude that the rhizome is an underground modification of the shoot. Bunches of subordinate roots grow on it, and in the nodes there are buds and leaves with arc or parallel venation.
How to distinguish root from rhizome?
These organs have not only anatomical, but also functional features. What are the characteristics of a rhizome from a root? An underground modified shoot is necessary for the supply of substances, so it often thickens, like that of an iris. Since ancient times, man has used rhizome for the vegetative propagation of plants. After all, it contains buds, leaves and roots - all that is necessary for the successful development of the young organism and the process of photosynthesis. Very often, rhizomes have weeds. Many gardeners know how difficult it is to get rid of wheat grass. After all, if you take out leaves or only part of the underground shoot from the soil, the whole organism will be restored from its remaining fragments.
The roots are also used for vegetative propagation of plants. However, leaves and buds do not grow on them. There are no chloroplasts in the roots. This means that this body does not carry out photosynthesis. The root fixes and holds the plant in the soil, from which it absorbs water with dissolved nutrients, providing an upward current.
In our article, we examined how to distinguish a root from a rhizome. These organs have a number of significant features. The root is an essential vital organ of any plant, has no buds and leaves, and is also devoid of chloroplasts. Rhizome is an underground modification of the shoot and is characteristic of certain types of plants. For example, lily of the valley, coltsfoot, wheatgrass. Most often, the rhizome is located horizontally underground and serves to store substances and vegetative propagation.