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Other documents randomly have
different content
 CHAPTER V
THE PLANT BODY

The Parts of a Plant.—Our familiar plants are made up of

several distinct parts. The most prominent of these parts are root,
stem, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed. Familiar plants differ wonderfully
in size and shape,—from fragile mushrooms, delicate waterweeds
and pond-scums, to floating leaves, soft grasses, coarse weeds, tall
bushes, slender climbers, gigantic trees, and hanging moss.
The Stem Part.—In most plants there is a main central part or
shaft on which the other or secondary parts are borne. This main
part is the plant axis. Above ground, in most plants, the main plant
axis bears the branches, leaves, and flowers; below ground, it bears
the roots.
The rigid part of the plant, which persists over winter and which is
left after leaves and flowers are fallen, is the framework of the
plant. The framework is composed of both root and stem. When the
plant is dead, the framework remains for a time, but it slowly
decays. The dry winter stems of weeds are the framework, or
skeleton of the plant (Figs. 11 and 12). The framework of trees is
the most conspicuous part of the plant.
The Root Part.—The root bears the stem at its apex, but
otherwise it normally bears only root-branches. The stem, however,
bears leaves, flowers, and fruits. Those living surfaces of the plant
which are most exposed to light are green or highly coloured. The
root tends to grow downward, but the stem tends to grow upward
toward light and air. The plant is anchored or fixed in the soil by the
roots. Plants have been called “earth parasites.”
The Foliage Part.—The leaves precede the flowers in point of
time or life of the plant. The flowers always precede the fruits and
seeds. Many plants die when the seeds have matured. The whole
mass of leaves of any plant or any branch is known as its foliage. In
some cases, as in crocuses, the flowers seem to precede the leaves;
but the leaves that made the food for these flowers grew the
preceding year.
The Plant Generation.—The course of a plant’s life, with all the
events through which the plant naturally passes, is known as the
plant’s life-history. The life-history embraces various stages, or
epochs, as dormant seed, germination, growth, flowering, fruiting.
Some plants run their course in a few weeks or months, and some
live for centuries.
The entire life period of a plant
is called a generation. It is the
whole period from birth to normal
death, without reference to the
various stages or events through
which it passes.
A generation begins with the
young seed, not with germination.
It ends with death—that is, when
no life is left in any part of the
plant, and only the seed or spore
remains to perpetuate the kind. In
a bulbous plant, as a lily or an
onion, the generation does not
end until the bulb dies, even
though the top is dead.
Fig. 11.—Plant of a Fig. 12.—
Wild Sunflower. Framework When the generation is of only
of Fig.
11. one season’s duration, the plant is
said to be annual. When it is of
two seasons, it is biennial.
Biennials usually bloom the second year. When of three or more
seasons, the plant is perennial. Examples of annuals are pigweed,
bean, pea, garden sunflower; of biennials, evening primrose,
mullein, teasel; of perennials, dock, most meadow grasses, cat-tail,
and all shrubs and trees.
Duration of the Plant Body.—Plant structures which are more
or less soft and which die at the close of the season are said to be
herbaceous, in contradistinction to being ligneous or woody. A
plant which is herbaceous to the ground is called an herb; but an
herb may have a woody or perennial root, in which case it is called
an herbaceous perennial. Annual plants are classed as herbs.
Examples of herbaceous perennials are buttercups, bleeding heart,
violet, water-lily, Bermuda grass, horse-radish, dock, dandelion,
goldenrod, asparagus, rhubarb, many wild sunflowers (Figs. 11, 12).
Many herbaceous perennials have short generations. They become
weak with one or two seasons of flowering and gradually die out.
Thus, red clover usually begins to fail after the second year.
Gardeners know that the best bloom of hollyhock, larkspur, pink, and
many other plants, is secured when the plants are only two or three
years old.
Herbaceous perennials which die away each season to bulbs or
tubers, are sometimes called pseud-annuals (that is, false
annuals). Of such are lily, crocus, onion, potato, and bull nettle.
True annuals reach old age the first year. Plants which are
normally perennial may become annual in a shorter-season climate
by being killed by frost, rather than by dying naturally at the end of
a season of growth. They are climatic annuals. Such plants are
called plur-annuals in the short-season region. Many tropical
perennials are plur-annuals when grown in the north, but they are
treated as true annuals because they ripen sufficient of their crop
the same season in which the seeds are sown to make them worth
cultivating, as tomato, red pepper, castor bean, cotton. Name several
vegetables that are planted in gardens with the expectation that
they will bear till frost comes.
 Fig. 13.—A Shrub or Bush. Dogwood osier.

Woody or ligneous plants usually live longer than herbs. Those

that remain low and produce several or many similar shoots from the
base are called shrubs, as lilac, rose, elder, osier (Fig. 13). Low and
thick shrubs are bushes. Plants that produce one main trunk and a
more or less elevated head are trees (Fig. 14). All shrubs and trees
are perennial.
Every plant makes an effort to propagate, or to perpetuate its
kind; and, as far as we can see, this is the end for which the plant
itself lives. The seed or spore is the final product of the plant.
Suggestions.—8. The teacher may assign each pupil to one plant in the school
yard, or field, or in a pot, and ask him to bring out the points in the lesson. 9. The
teacher may put on the board the names of many common plants and ask the
pupils to classify into annuals, pseud-annuals, plur-annuals (or climatic annuals),
biennials, perennials, herbaceous perennials, ligneous perennials, herbs, bushes,
trees. Every plant grown on the farm should be so classified: wheat, oats, corn,
buckwheat, timothy, strawberry, raspberry, currant, tobacco, alfalfa, flax, crimson
clover, hops, cowpea, field bean, sweet potato,
peanut, radish, sugar-cane, barley, cabbage, and
others. Name all the kinds of trees you know.

Fig. 14.—A Tree. The weeping

birch.
 CHAPTER VI
SEEDS AND GERMINATION

The seed contains a miniature plant, or embryo. The embryo

usually has three parts that have received names: the stemlet, or
caulicle; the seed-leaf, or cotyledon (usually 1 or 2); the bud, or
plumule, lying between or above the cotyledons. These parts are
well seen in the common bean (Fig. 15), particularly when the seed
has been soaked for a few hours. One of the large cotyledons—
comprising half of the bean—is shown at R. The caulicle is at O. The
plumule is shown at A. The cotyledons are attached to the caulicle at
F: this point may be taken as the first node or joint.
The Number of Seed-leaves.—All plants having two
seed-leaves belong to the group called dicotyledons.
Such seeds in many cases split readily in halves, e.g. a
Fig. 15.— bean. Some plants have only one seed-leaf in a seed.
Parts of They form a group of plants called monocotyledons.
the Bean. Indian corn is an example of a plant with only one seed-
R, cotyledon; O,
caulicle; A, leaf: a grain of corn does not split into halves as a bean
plumule; F, does. Seeds of the pine family contain more than two
first node.
cotyledons, but for our purposes they may be associated
with the dicotyledons, although really forming a different
group.
These two groups—the dicotyledons and the monocotyledons—
represent two great natural divisions of the vegetable kingdom. The
dicotyledons contain the woody bark-bearing trees and bushes
(except conifers), and most of the herbs of temperate climates
except the grasses, sedges, rushes, lily tribes, and orchids. The
flower-parts are usually in fives or multiples of five, the leaves
mostly netted-veined, the bark or rind distinct, and the stem often
bearing a pith at the centre. The monocotyledons usually have the
flower-parts in threes or multiples of three, the leaves long and
parallel-veined, the bark not separable, and the stem without a
central pith.
Every seed is provided with food to support the
germinating plant. Commonly this food is starch. The food
may be stored in the cotyledons, as in bean, pea, squash;
or outside the cotyledons, as in castor bean, pine, IndianFig. 16.—
corn. When the food is outside or around the embryo, it is External
usually called endosperm. Parts of
Bean.
Seed-coats; Markings on Seed.—The embryo and
endosperm are inclosed within a covering made of two or more
layers and known as the seed-coats. Over the point of the caulicle
is a minute hole or a thin place in the coats known as the
micropyle. This is the point at which the pollen-tube entered the
forming ovule and through which the caulicle breaks in germination.
The micropyle is shown at M in Fig. 16. The scar where the seed
broke from its funiculus (or stalk that attached it to its pod) is
named the hilum. It occupies a third of the length of the bean in
Fig. 16. The hilum and micropyle are always present in seeds, but
they are not always close together. In many cases it is difficult to
identify the micropyle in the dormant seed, but its location is at once
shown by the protruding caulicle as germination begins. Opposite
the micropyle in the bean (at the other end of the hilum) is an
elevation known as the raphe. This is formed by a union of the
funiculus, or seed-stalk, with the seed-coats, and through it food
was transferred for the development of the seed, but it is now
functionless.
Seeds differ wonderfully in size, shape, colour, and other
characteristics. They also vary in longevity. These characteristics are
peculiar to the species or kind. Some seeds maintain life only a few
weeks or even days, whereas others will “keep” for ten or twenty
years. In special cases, seeds have retained vitality longer than this
limit, but the stories that live seeds, several thousand years old,
have been taken from the wrappings of mummies are unfounded.
 Germination.—The embryo is not dead; it is only dormant. When
supplied with moisture, warmth, and oxygen (air), it awakes and
grows: this growth is germination. The embryo lives for a time on
the stored food, but gradually the plantlet secures a foothold in the
soil and gathers food for itself. When the plantlet is finally able to
shift for itself, germination is complete.
Early Stages of Seedling.—The germinating seed first absorbs
water, and swells. The starchy matters gradually become soluble.
The seed-coats are ruptured, the caulicle and plumule emerge.
During this process the seed respires freely, throwing off carbon
dioxide (CO2).
The caulicle usually elongates,
and from its lower end roots are
emitted. The elongating caulicle is
known as the hypocotyl (“below
the cotyledons”). That is, the
hypocotyl is that part of the stem
of the plantlet lying between the
roots and the cotyledon. The
general direction of the young
hypocotyl, or emerging caulicle, is
downwards. As soon as rootsFig. 17.—Pea. Grotesque forms assumed
form, it becomes fixed and its when the roots cannot gain entrance
subsequent growth tends to raie to the soil.
the cotyledons above the ground,
as in the bean. When cotyledons rise into the air, germination is said
to be epigeal (“above the earth”). Bean and pumpkin are examples.
When the hypocotyl does not elongate greatly and the cotyledons
remain under ground, the germination is hypogeal (“beneath the
earth”). Pea and scarlet runner bean are examples (Fig. 48). When
the germinating seed lies on a hard surface, as on closely compacted
soil, the hypocotyl and rootlets may not be able to secure a foothold
and they assume grotesque forms (Fig. 17). Try this with peas and
beans.
 The first internode (“between nodes”) above the cotyledons is the
epicotyl. It elevates the plumule into the air, and the plumule
leaves expand into the first true leaves of the plant. These first true
leaves, however, may be very unlike the later leaves in shape.
Germination of Bean.—The common bean, as
we have seen (Fig. 15), has cotyledons that occupy
all the space inside the seed-coats. When the
hypocotyl, or elongated caulicle, emerges, the
Fig. 18.—Cotyledons plumule leaves have begun to enlarge, and to
of Germinating
unfold (Fig. 18). The hypocotyl elongates rapidly.
Bean spread apart
to show Elongating
One end of it is held by the roots. The other is held
Caudicle and by the seed-coats in the soil. It therefore takes the
Plumule. form of a loop, and the central part of the loop
“comes up” first (a, Fig. 19). Presently the
cotyledons come out of the seed-coats, and
the plant straightens and the cotyledons
expand. These cotyledons, or “halves of the
bean,” persist for some time (b, Fig. 19).
They often become green and probably
perform some function of foliage. Because of
its large size, the Lima bean shows all these
parts well.
Germination of Castor
Bean.—In the castor bean the
hilum and micropyle are at the
Fig. 19.—Germination of Bean.
smaller end (Fig. 20). TheFig. 20.—
bean “comes up” with a loop, Sprouting of
which indicates that the hypocotyl greatly elongates. Castor Bean.
On examining germinating seed, however, it will be
found that the cotyledons are contained inside a fleshy body, or sac
(a, Fig. 21). This sac is the endosperm. Against its inner surface the
thin, veiny cotyledons are very closely pressed, absorbing its
substance (Fig. 22). The cotyledons increase in size as they reach
the air (Fig. 23), and become functional leaves.
 Fig. 21.—Germination of Fig. 22.—Castor Bean. Fig. 23.—Germination
Castor Bean. Endosperm at a, a; cotyledons Complete in Castor Bean.
Endosperm at a. at b.

Germination of Monocotyledons.—Thus far we have studied

dicotyledonous seeds; we may now consider the monocotyledonous
group. Soak kernels of corn. Note that the micropyle and hilum are
at the smaller end (Fig. 24). Make a longitudinal section through the
narrow diameter; Fig. 25 shows it. The single cotyledon is at a, the
caulicle at b, the plumule at p. The cotyledon remains in the seed.
The food is stored both in the cotyledon and as endosperm, chiefly
the latter. The emerging shoot is the plumule, with a sheathing leaf
(p, Fig. 26). The root is emitted from the tip of the caulicle, c. The
caulicle is held in a sheath (formed mostly from the seed-coats), and
some of the roots escape through the upper end of this sheath (m,
Fig. 26). The epicotyl elongates, particularly if the seed is planted
deep or if it is kept for a time confined. In Fig. 27 the epicotyl has
elongated from n to p. The true plumule-leaf is at o, but other leaves
grow from its sheath. In Fig. 28 the roots are seen emerging from
the two ends of the caulicle-sheath, c, m; the epicotyl has grown to
p; the first plumule-leaf is at o.
 Fig. 24.— Fig. 25.—Kernel of Fig. 26.—Indian Corn.
Sprouting Indian Indian Corn. Caulicle at c; roots emerging at m; plumule at p.

Corn. Caulicle at b;
Hilum at h; micropyle at cotyledon at a;
d. plumule at p.

In studying corn or other

fruits or seeds, the pupil
should note how the seeds
are arranged, as on the
cob. Count the rows on a
corn cob. Odd or even in
number? Always the same
number? The silk is the
style: find where it was
attached to the kernel. Did
the ear have any
Fig. 27.—Indian Corn. coverings? Explain.
o, plumule; n to p, epicotyl. Describe colours and
markings of kernels of
corn; and of peas, beans, castor bean.
Gymnosperms.—The seeds in the pine cone, not being inclosed
in a seed vessel, readily fall out when the cone dries and the scales
separate. Hence it is difficult to find cones with seeds in them after
autumn has passed (Fig. 29). The cedar is also a gymnosperm.
Remove a scale from a pine cone and draw it and the seeds as
they lie in place on the upper side of the scale. Examine the seed,
 preferably with a magnifying glass. Is
there a hilum? The micropyle is at the
bottom or little end of the seed. Toss a
seed upward into the air. Why does it fall
so slowly? Can you explain the peculiar
whirling motion by the shape of the
wing? Repeat the experiment in the
wind. Remove the wing from a seed and
toss it and an uninjured seed into the air
together. What do you infer from these
experiments?
Suggestions.—Few subjects connected with the
study of plant-life are so useful in schoolroom
demonstrations as germination. The pupil should
prepare the soil, plant the seeds, water them,
and care for the plants. 10. Plant seeds in pots
or shallow boxes. The box should not be very
wide or long, and not over four inches deep.
Holes may be bored in the bottom so it will not
hold water. Plant a number of squash, bean,
corn, pine, or other seeds about an inch deep in
damp sand or pine sawdust in this box. The
depth of planting should be two to four times the
diameter of the seeds. Keep the sand or sawdust
moist but not wet. If the class is large, use
Fig. 28.—Germination is Complete. several boxes, that the supply of specimens may
p, top of epicotyl; o, plumule-leaf; m, roots;
c, lower roots.
be ample. Cigar boxes and chalk boxes are
excellent for individual pupils. It is well to begin
the planting of seeds at least ten days in advance
of the lesson, and to make four or five different plantings at intervals. A day or
two before the study is taken up, put seeds to soak in moss or cloth. The pupil
then has a series from swollen seeds to complete germination, and all the steps
can be made out. Dry seeds should be had for comparison. If there is no special
room for laboratory, nor duplicate apparatus for every pupil, each experiment may
be assigned to a committee of two pupils to watch in the schoolroom. 11. Good
seeds for study are those detailed in the lesson, and buckwheat, pumpkin, cotton,
morning glory, radish, four o’clock, oats, wheat. It is best to use familiar seeds of
farm and garden. Make drawings and notes of all the events in the germination.
Note the effects of unusual conditions, as planting too deep and too shallow and
different sides up. For hypogeal germination, use the garden pea, scarlet runner,
or Dutch case-knife bean, acorn, horse-chestnut. Squash
seeds are excellent for germination studies, because the
cotyledons become green and leafy and germination is
rapid. Onion is excellent, except that it germinates too
slowly. In order to study the root development of
germinating plantlets, it is well to provide a deeper box
with a glass side against which the seeds are planted.
12. Observe the germination of any common seed about
the house premises. When elms, oaks, pines, or maples
are abundant, the germination of their seeds may be
studied in lawns and along fences. 13. When studying
germination the pupil should note the differences in
shape and size between cotyledons and plumule leaves,
and between plumule leaves and the normal leaves (Fig.
30). Make drawings.
14.
Make
the
tests
describe
d in the
introduc
tory
experim
Fig. 30.—Muskmelon Seedlings, with the unlike ents
seed-leaves and true leaves. with
bean,
corn, Fig. 29.—Cones of
the castor bean, and other seed for starch and proteids. Hemlock (above), White
Test flour, oatmeal, rice, sunflower, four o’clock, various Pine, Pitch Pine.
nuts, and any other seeds obtainable. Record your results
by arranging the seeds in three classes, 1. Much starch
(colour blackish or purple), 2. Little starch (pale blue or greenish), 3. No starch
(brown or yellow). 15. Rate of growth of seedlings as affected by differences in
temperature. Pack soft wet paper to the depth of an inch in the bottom of four
glass bottles or tumblers. Put ten soaked peas or beans into each. Cover each
securely and set them in places having different temperatures that vary little. (A
furnace room, a room with a stove, a room without stove but reached by
sunshine, an unheated room not reached by the sun). Take the temperatures
occasionally with the thermometer to find difference in temperature. The tumblers
in warm places should be covered very tightly to prevent the germination from
being retarded by drying out. Record the number of seeds which sprout in each
tumbler within 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days, etc. 16. Is air necessary for the
germination and growth of seedlings? Place damp blotting paper in the bottom of
a bottle and fill it three-fourths full of soaked seeds, and close it tightly with a
rubber stopper or oiled cork. Prepare a “check experiment” by having another
bottle with all conditions the same except that it is covered loosely that air may
have access to it, and set the bottles side by side (why keep the bottles
together?). Record results as in the preceding experiment. 17. What is the nature
of the gas given off by germinating seeds? Fill a tin box or large-necked bottle
with dry beans or peas, then add water; note how much they swell. Secure two
fruit jars. Fill one of them a third full of beans and keep them moist. Allow the
other to remain empty. In a day or two insert a lighted splinter or taper into each.
In the empty jar the taper burns: it contains oxygen. In the seed jar the taper
goes out: the air has been replaced by carbon dioxide. The air in the bottle may
be tested for carbon dioxide by removing some of it with a rubber bulb attached to
a glass tube (or a fountain-pen filler) and bubbling it through lime water. 18.
Temperature. Usually there is a perceptible rise in temperature in a mass of
germinating seeds. This rise may be tested with a thermometer. 19. Interior of
seeds. Soak seeds for twenty-four hours and remove the coat. Distinguish the
embryo from the endosperm. Test with iodine. 20. Of what utility is the food in
seeds? Soak some grains of corn overnight and remove the endosperm, being
careful not to injure the fleshy cotyledon. Plant the incomplete and also some
complete grains in moist sawdust and measure their growth at intervals. (Boiling
the sawdust will destroy moulds and bacteria which might interfere with the
experiment.) Peas or beans may be sprouted on damp blotting paper; the
cotyledons of one may be removed, and this with a normal seed equally advanced
in germination may be placed on a perforated cork floating in water in a jar so that
the roots extend into the water. Their growth may be observed for several weeks.
21. Effect of darkness on seeds and seedlings. A box may be placed mouth
downward over a smaller box in which seedlings are growing. The empty box
should rest on half-inch blocks to allow air to reach the seedlings. Note any effects
on the seedlings of this cutting off of the light. Another box of seedlings not so
covered may be used as a check. Lay a plank on green grass and after a week
note the change that takes place beneath it. 22. Seedling of pine. Plant pine
seeds. Notice how they emerge. Do the cotyledons stay in the ground? How many
cotyledons have they? When do the cotyledons get free from the seed-coat? What
is the last part of the cotyledon to become free? Where is the growing point or
plumule? How many leaves appear at once? Does the new pine cone grow on old
wood or on wood formed the same spring with the cone? Can you always find
partly grown cones on pine trees in winter? Are pine cones when mature on two-
year-old wood? How long do cones stay on a tree after the seeds have fallen out?
What is the advantage of the seeds falling before the cones? 23. Home
experiments. If desired, nearly all of the fore-going experiments may be tried at
home. The pupil can thus make the drawings for the notebook at home. A daily
record of measurements of the change in size of the various parts of the seedling
should also be made.
24. Seed-testing.—It is important that one know
before planting whether seeds are good, or able to grow.
A simple seed-tester may be made of two plates, one
inverted over the other (Fig. 31). The lower plate is
nearly filled with clean sand, which is covered with
cheese cloth or blotting paper on which the seeds are
placed. Canton flannel is sometimes used in place of sand
and blotting paper. The seeds are then covered with
another blotter or piece of cloth, and water is applied
Fig. 31.—A Home-made Seed- until the sand and papers are saturated. Cover with the
tester. second plate. Set the plates where they will have about
the temperature that the given seeds would require out
of doors, or perhaps a slightly higher temperature. Place 100 or more grains of
clover, corn, wheat, oats, rye, rice, buckwheat, or other seeds in the tester, and
keep record of the number that sprout. The result will give a percentage measure
of the ability of the seeds to grow. Note whether all the seeds sprout with equal
vigour and rapidity. Most seeds will sprout in a week or less. Usually such a tester
must have fresh sand and paper after each test, for mould fungi are likely to breed
in it. If canton flannel is used, it may be boiled. If possible, the seeds should not
touch one another.
Note to Teacher.—With the study of germination, the pupil will need to begin
dissecting.
For dissecting, one needs a lens for the examination of the smaller parts of
plants and animals. It is best to have the lens mounted on a frame, so that the
pupil has both hands free for pulling the part in pieces. An ordinary pocket lens
may be mounted on a wire in a block as in Fig. A. A cork is slipped on the top of
the wire to avoid injury to the face. The pupil should be provided with two
dissecting needles (Fig. B), made by securing an ordinary needle in a pencil-like
stick. Another convenient arrangement is shown in Fig. C. A small tin dish is used
for the base. Into this a stiff wire standard is soldered. The dish is filled with
solder to make it heavy and firm. Into a cork slipped on the standard, a cross wire
is inserted, holding on the end a jeweller’s glass. The lens can be moved up and
down and sidewise. This outfit can be made for about seventy-five cents. Fig. D
shows a convenient hand-rest or dissecting-stand to be used under this lens. It
may be 16 in. long, 4 in. high, and 4 or 5 in. broad.
Various kinds of dissecting microscopes are on the market, and these are to be
recommended when they can be afforded.
 B.— C.—Dissecting Glass. D.—Dissecting Stand.
Dissecting
Needle A.—Improvised Stand for

½ natural Lens.
size.

Instructions for the use of the compound microscope, with which

some schools may be equipped, cannot be given in a brief space;
the technique requires careful training. Such microscopes are not
needed unless the pupil studies cells and tissues.
 CHAPTER VII
THE ROOT—THE FORMS OF ROOTS

The Root System.—The offices of the root are to hold the plant
in place, and to gather food. Not all the food materials, however, are
gathered by the roots.

Fig. 32.—Tap-root
Fig. 33.—Tap-root of the Dandelion.
System of Alfalfa.

The entire mass of roots of any plant is called its root system.
The root system may be annual, biennial or perennial, herbaceous or
woody, deep or shallow, large or small.
Kinds of Roots.—A strong leading central root, which runs
directly downwards, is a tap-root. The tap-root forms an axis from
which the side roots may branch. The side or spreading roots are
usually smaller. Plants that have such a root system are said to be
tap-rooted. Examples are red clover, alfalfa, beet, turnip, radish,
burdock, dandelion, hickory (Figs. 32, 33).
A fibrous root system is one that is composed of many nearly
equal slender branches. The greater number of plants have fibrous
roots. Examples are many common grasses, wheat, oats, corn. The
buttercup in Fig. 34 has a fibrous root system. Many trees have a
strong tap-root when very young, but after a while it ceases to
extend strongly and the side roots develop until finally the tap-root
character disappears.
Shape and Extent of the Root System.—
The depth to which roots extend depends on
the kind of plant, and the nature of the soil. Of
most plants the roots extend far in all directions
and lie comparatively near the surface. The
roots usually radiate from a common point just
beneath the surface of the ground.
The roots grow here and there in search of
food, often extending much farther in all
directions than the spread of the top of the
plant. Roots tend to spread farther in poor soil
than in rich soil, for the same size of plant. The
root has no such definite form as the stem has.
Roots are usually very crooked, because they
are constantly turned aside by obstacles.
Examine roots in stony soil.
Fig. 34.—A Buttercup
The extent of root surface is usually very Plant, with fibrous roots.
large, for the feeding roots are fine and very
numerous. An ordinary plant of Indian corn may have a total length
of root (measured as if the roots were placed end to end) of several
hundred feet.
 The fine feeding roots are most abundant in the richest part of the
soil. They are attracted by the food materials. Roots often will
completely surround a bone or other morsel. When roots of trees are
exposed, observe that most of them are horizontal and lie near the
top of the ground. Some roots, as of willows, extend far in search of
water. They often run into wells and drains, and into the margins of
creeks and ponds. Grow plants in a long narrow box, in one end of
which the soil is kept very dry and in the other moist: observe where
the roots grow.
Buttresses.—With the increase
in diameter, the upper roots often
protrude above the ground and
become bracing buttresses. These
buttresses are usually largest in
trees which always have been
exposed to strong winds (Fig. 35).
Because of growth and thickening,
the roots elevate part of their
diameter, and the washing away
Fig. 35.—The Bracing Base of a Field Pine. of the soil makes them to appear
as if having risen out of the
ground.
Aërial Roots.—Although roots usually grow underground, there
are some that naturally grow above ground. These usually occur on
climbing plants, the roots becoming supports or fulfilling the office of
tendrils. These aërial roots usually turn away from the light, and
therefore enter the crevices and dark places of the wall or tree over
which the plant climbs. The trumpet creeper (Fig. 36), true or
English ivy, and poison ivy climb by means of roots.
In some plants all the roots are aërial; that is, the plant grows
above ground, and the roots gather food from the air. Such plants
usually grow on trees. They are known as epiphytes or air-plants.
The most familiar examples are some of the tropical orchids which
 are
grown
in
glass-
house
s (Fig.
37).
Rootlik
e
organs
of
dodde
r and
other
parasit
es are
discus
sed in
a
future
chapte Fig. 37.—Aërial Roots of an Orchid.
r.
Some plants bear aërial roots, that may
propagate the plant or may act as braces.
They are often called prop-roots. The roots
of Indian corn are familiar (Fig. 38). Many
ficus trees, as the banyan of India, send out
roots from their branches; when these roots
reach the ground they take hold and
become great trunks, thus spreading the top
of the parent tree over large areas. The
mangrove tree of the tropics grows along
seashores and sends down roots from the
Fig. 36.—Aërial Roots of overhanging branches (and from the fruits)
Trumpet Creeper or Tecoma. into the shallow water, and thereby
gradually marches into the sea. The tangled mass behind catches
the drift, and soil is formed.
Adventitious Roots.—Sometimes roots grow
from the stem or other unusual places as the result
of some accident to the plant, being located
without known method or law. They are called
adventitious (chance) roots. Cuttings of the
stems of roses, figs, geraniums, and other plants,
when planted, send out adventitious roots and
form new plants. The ordinary roots, or soil roots,
are of course not classed as adventitious roots. The
adventitious roots arise on occasion, and not as a
normal or regular course in the growth of the plant.
No two roots are alike; that is, they vary
among themselves as stems and leaves do. Each
kind of plant has its own form or habit of root (Fig.
39). Carefully wash away the soil from the roots of
Fig. 38.—Indian
any two related plants, as oats and wheat, and
Corn, showing the
brace roots at oo. note the differences in size, depth, direction, mode
of branching, number of fibrils, colour, and other
features. The character of the root system often
governs the treatment that the farmer should give the soil in which
the plant or crop grows.
 Fig. 39.—Roots of Barley at A and Corn at B.
Carefully trace the differences.

Roots differ not only in their form and habit, but also in colour of
tissue, character of bark or rind, and other features. It is excellent
practice to try to identify different plants by means of their roots. Let
each pupil bring to school two plants with the roots very carefully
dug up, as cotton, corn, potato, bean, wheat, rye, timothy, pumpkin,
clover, sweet pea, raspberry, strawberry, or other common plants.
Root Systems of Weeds.—Some weeds are pestiferous because
they seed abundantly, and others because their underground parts
run deep or far and are persistent. Make out the root systems in the
six worst weeds in your locality.
 CHAPTER VIII
THE ROOT.—FUNCTION AND STRUCTURE

The function of roots is twofold,—to provide support or

anchorage for the plant, and to collect and convey food materials.
The first function is considered in Chapter VII; we may now give
attention in more detail to the second.
The feeding surface of the roots is near
their ends. As the roots become old and
hard, they serve only as channels through
which food passes and as hold-fasts or
supports for the plant. The root hold of a
plant is very strong. Slowly pull upwards on
some plant, and note how firmly it is
anchored in the soil.
Roots have power to choose their
food; that is, they do not absorb all
substances with which they come in contact.
They do not take up great quantities of
useless or harmful materials, even though
these materials may be abundant in the soil;
Fig. 40.—Wheat growing but they may take up a greater quantity of
under Different Soil some of the plant-foods than the plant can
Treatments. Soil deficient inuse to advantage. Plants respond very
nitrogen; commercial
nitrogen applied to pot 3 quickly to liberal feeding,—that is, to the
(on right). application of plant-food to the soil (Fig 40).
The poorer the soil, the more marked are
the results, as a rule, of the application of fertilizers. Certain
substances, as common salt, will kill the roots.
Roots absorb Substances only in Solution.—Substances
cannot be taken in solid particles. These materials are in solution in
the soil water, and the roots themselves
also have the power to dissolve the soil
materials to some extent by means of
substances that they excrete. The
materials that come into the plant
through the roots are water and mostly
the mineral substances, as compounds of
potassium, iron, phosphorus, calcium,
magnesium, sulphur, and chlorine. These
mineral substances compose the ash
when the plant is burned. The carbon is
derived from the air through the green
parts. Oxygen is derived from the air and
the soil water.
Nitrogen
enters
through the
Roots.—All
plants must
have Fig. 41.—Nodules on Roots of Red
nitrogen; yet, Clover.
although
about four-fifths of the air is nitrogen,
plants are not able, so far as we know,
to take it in through their leaves. It
enters through the roots in combination
with other elements, chiefly in the form
of nitrates (certain combinations with
Fig. 42.—Nodules on Vetch.
oxygen and a mineral base). The great
family of leguminous plants, however (as
peas, beans, cowpea, clover, alfalfa, vetch), use the nitrogen
contained in the air in the soil. They are able to utilize it through the
agency of nodules on their roots (Figs. 41, 42). These nodules
contain bacteria, which appropriate the free or uncombined nitrogen
and pass it on to the plant. The nitrogen becomes incorporated in
the plant tissue, so that these crops are high in their nitrogen
content. Inasmuch as nitrogen in any form is expensive to purchase
in fertilizers, the use of leguminous crops to plough under is a very
important agricultural practice in preparing the land for other crops.
In order that leguminous crops may acquire atmospheric nitrogen
more freely and thereby thrive better, the land is sometimes sown or
inoculated with the nodule-forming bacteria.
Roots require moisture in
order to serve the plant. The soil
water that is valuable to the plant
is not the free water, but the thin
film of moisture which adheres to
each little particle of soil. The
finer the soil, the greater the
number of particles, and therefore
the greater is the quantity of film
moisture that it can hold. This
moisture surrounding the grains
may not be perceptible, yet the
plant can use it. Root absorptionFig. 43.—Two Kinds of Soil that have been
may continue in a soil which Wet and then Dried. The loamy soil
seems to be dust dry. Soils that above remains loose and capable of
are very hard and “baked” (Fig. growing plants; the clay soil below has
baked and cracked.
43) contain very little moisture or
air,—not so much as similar soils
that are granular or mellow.
Proper Temperature for Root Action.—The root must be
warm in order to perform its functions. Should the soil of fields or
greenhouses be much colder than the air, the plant suffers. When in
a warm atmosphere, or in a dry atmosphere, plants need to absorb
much water from the soil, and the roots must be warm if the root-
hairs are to supply the water as rapidly as it is needed. If the roots
are chilled, the plant may wilt or die.
 Roots need Air.—Corn on land that has been flooded
by heavy rains loses its green colour and turns yellow.
Besides diluting plant-food, the water drives the air from
the soil, and this suffocation of the roots is very soon
apparent in the general ill health of the plant. Stirring or
tilling the soil aërates it. Water plants and bog plants have
adapted themselves to their particular conditions. They
get their air either by special surface roots, or from the
water through stems and leaves.
Rootlets.—Roots divide into the thinnest and finest
fibrils: there are roots and there are rootlets. The smallest
rootlets are so slender and delicate that they break offFig. 44.—
even when the plant is very carefully lifted from the soil. Root-hairs
of the
The rootlets, or fine divisions, are clothed with the Radish.
root-hairs (Figs. 44, 45, 46). These root-hairs attach to
the soil particles, and a great amount of soil is thus brought into
actual contact with the plant. These are very delicate prolonged
surface cells of the roots. They are borne for a short distance just
back of the tip of the root.
Rootlet and root-hair differ. The
rootlet is a compact cellular structure.
The root-hair is a delicate tubular cell
(Fig. 45), within which is contained
living matter (protoplasm); and the
protoplasmic lining membrane of the
wall governs the entrance of water
and substances in solution. Being
long and tube-like, these root-hairs
are especially adapted for taking in
the largest quantity of solutions; and
they are the principal means by
which plant-food is absorbed from
the soil, although the surfaces of the
Fig. 45.—Cross-section of Root, rootlets themselves do their part.
enlarged, showing root-hairs.
Water plants do not produce an abundant system of root-hairs, and
such plants depend largely on their rootlets.
The root-hairs are very small, often
invisible. They, with the young roots, are
usually broken off when the plant is pulled
up. They are best seen when seeds are
germinated between layers of dark blotting
paper or flannel. On the young roots they
will be seen as a mould-like or gossamer-like
covering. Root-hairs soon die: they do not
grow into roots. New ones form as the root
grows. Fig. 46.—Root-hair, much
enlarged, in contact with
Osmosis.—The water with itsthe soil particles (s). Air-
nourishment goes through the thin walls of spaces at a; water-films
the root-hairs and rootlets by the process of on the particles, as at w.
osmosis. If there are two liquids of different
density on the inside and outside of an organic (either vegetable or
animal) membrane, the liquids tend to mix through the membrane.
The law of osmosis is that the most rapid flow is toward the denser
solution. The protoplasmic lining of the cell wall is such a membrane.
The soil water being a weaker solution than the sap in the roots, the
flow is into the root. A strong fertilizer sometimes causes a plant to
wither, or “burns it.” Explain.
Structure of Roots.—The root that grows from the lower end of
the caulicle is the first or primary root. Secondary roots branch
from the primary root. Branches of secondary roots are sometimes
called tertiary roots. Do the secondary roots grow from the cortex,
or from the central cylinder of the primary root? Trim or peel the
cortex from a root and its branches and determine whether the
branches still hold to the central cylinder of the main root.
Internal Structure of Roots.—A section of a root shows that it
consists of a central cylinder (see Fig. 45) surrounded by a layer.
This layer is called the cortex. The outer layer of cells in the cortex
is called the epidermis, and some of the cells of the epidermis are
prolonged and form the delicate root-hairs. The cortex resembles the
bark of the stem in its nature. The central cylinder contains many
tube-like canals, or “vessels” that convey water and food (Fig. 45).
Cut a sweet potato across (also a radish and a turnip) and
distinguish the central cylinder, cortex, and epidermis. Notice the
hard cap on the tip of roots. Roots differ from stems in having no
real pith.
Microscopic Structure of Roots.—Near
the end of any young root or shoot the cells
are found to differ from one another more or
less, according to the distance from the
point. This differentiation takes place in the
region just back of the growing point. To
study growing points, use the hypocotyl of
Indian corn which has grown about one-half
inch. Make a longitudinal section. Note these
points (Fig. 47): (a) the tapering root-cap
beyond the growing point; (b) the blunt end
of the root proper and the rectangular shape
of the cells found there; (c) the group of
cells in the middle of the first layers beneath
the root-cap,—this group is the growing
Fig. 47.—Growing Point of
point; (d) study the slight differences in the
Root of Indian Corn.
d, d, cells which will form the tissues a short distance back of the growing
epidermis; p, p, cells that will form
bark; e, e, endodermis; pl, cells
point. There are four regions: the central
which will form the axis cylinder; i, cylinder, made up of several rows of cells
initial group of cells, or growing
point proper; c, root-cap. in the centre (pl); the endodermis, (e)
composed of a single layer on each side
which separates the central cylinder from the bark; the cortex, or
inner bark, (e) of several layers outside the endodermis; and the
epidermis, or outer layer of bark on the outer edges (d). Make a
drawing of the section. If a series of the cross-sections of the
hypocotyl should be made and studied by the pupil beginning near
the growing point and going upward, it would be found that these
four tissues become more distinctly marked, for at the tip the tissues
have not yet assumed their characteristic form. The central cylinder
contains the ducts and vessels which convey the sap.
The Root-cap.—Note the form of the root-cap
shown in the microscopic section drawn in Fig. 47.
Growing cells, and especially those which are
forming tissue by subdividing, are very delicate and
are easily injured. The cells forming the root-cap
are older and tougher and are suited for pushing
aside the soil that the root may penetrate it.
Region of most Rapid Growth.—The roots of
a seedling bean may be marked at equal distances
by waterproof ink or by bits of black thread tied
moderately tight. The seedling is then replanted
and left undisturbed for two days. When it is dugFig. 48.—The Marking
up, the region of most rapid growth in the root canof the Stem and Root.
be determined. Give a reason why a root cannot
elongate throughout its length,—whether there is anything to
prevent a young root from doing so.
In Fig. 48 is shown a germinating scarlet runner bean with a short
root upon which are marks made with waterproof ink; and the same
root (Fig. 49) is shown after it has grown longer. Which part of it did
not lengthen at all? Which part lengthened slightly? Where is the
region of most rapid growth?
Geotropism.—Roots turn toward the earth, even if the seed is
planted with the micropyle up. This phenomenon is called positive
geotropism. Stems grow away from the earth. This is negative
geotropism.
Suggestions (Chaps. VII and VIII).—25. Tests for food. Examine a number of
roots, including several fleshy roots, for the presence of food material, making the
tests used on seeds. 26. Study of root-hairs. Carefully germinate radish, turnip,
cabbage, or other seed, so that no delicate parts of the root will be injured. For
this purpose, place a few seeds in packing-moss or in the folds of thick cloth or of
blotting paper, being careful to keep them moist and warm. In a few days the seed
has germinated, and the root has grown an inch or two long. Notice that, except
at a distance of about a quarter of an inch behind the tip, the root is covered with
 minute hairs (Fig. 44). They are actually hairs;
that is, root-hairs. Touch them and they collapse,
they are so delicate. Dip one of the plants in
water, and when removed the hairs are not to be
seen. The water mats them together along the
root and they are no longer evident. Root-hairs
are usually destroyed when a plant is pulled out
of the soil, be it done ever so carefully. They cling
to the minute particles of soil (Fig. 46). The hairs
show best against a dark background. 27. On
some of the blotting papers, sprinkle sand;
observe how the root-hairs cling to the grains.
Observe how they are flattened when they come
in contact with grains of sand.
28. Root hold of plant. The pupil should also
study the root hold. Let him carefully pull up a
plant. If a plant grows alongside a fence or other
rigid object, he may test the root hold by
securing a string to the plant, letting the string
hang over the fence, and then adding weights to
the string. Will a stake of similar size to the plant
and extending no deeper in the ground have
such firm hold on the soil? What holds the ball of
earth in Fig. 50? 29. Roots exert pressure. Place
a strong bulb of hyacinth or daffodil on firm-
packed earth in a pot; cover the bulb nearly to
the top with loose earth; place in a cool cellar;
after some days or weeks, note that the bulb has
been raised out of the earth by the forming
Fig. 49.—The Result. roots. All roots exert pressure on the soil as they
grow. Explain.
30. Response of roots and stems to the force of gravity, or geotropism. Plant a
fast-growing seedling in a pot so that the plumule extends through the drain hole
and suspend the pot with mouth up (i.e. in the usual position). Or use a pot in
which a plant is already growing, cover with cloth or wire gauze to prevent the soil
from falling, and suspend the pot in an inverted position (Fig. 51). Notice the
behaviour of the stem, and after a few days remove the soil and observe the
position of the root. 31. If a pot is laid on one side, and changed every two days
and laid on its opposite side, the effect on the root and stem will be interesting.
32. If a fleshy root is planted wrong end up, what is the result? Try it with pieces
of horse-radish root. 33. By planting radishes on a slowly revolving wheel the
effect of gravity may be neutralized. 34. Region of root most sensitive to gravity.