Elementary Botany

I. Function of Roots.

784. The most obvious function of the roots of ordinary plants are two: 1st, To furnish anchorage and partial support, and 2d, absorption of liquid nutriment from the soil. The environmental relation of such roots, then, in broad terms, is with the soil. It is very clear that in some plants the root serves both functions, while in other plants the root may fulfil only one of these requirements.

The problems which the plant has to solve in working out these relations are:

• (1) Permeation of the soil or substratum.
• (2) Grappling the substratum.
• (3) A congenial moisture or water relation.
• (4) Distribution of roots for the purpose of reaching food-laden soil.
• (5) Exposure of surface for absorption.
• (6) The renewal of the delicate structures for absorption.
• (7) Aid in preparation of food from raw material.
• (8) The maintenance of the required balance between the environment
• as a whole and the increasing or changing requirements of the plant.

785. (1) Permeation of the soil or substratum.—The fundamental divergence of character in the environmental relations of root and stem are manifest as soon as they emerge from the germinating seed. Under the influence of the same stimulus (gravity) the root shows its geotropic character by growing downward, while the geotropic character of the stem is shown in its upward growth.

The medium which the root has to penetrate offers considerable resistance, and the form of the root as well as its manner of growth is adapted to overcome this difficulty. The slender, conical, penetrating root-tip wedges its way between the minute particles of soil or into the minute crevices of the rock, while the nutation of the root enables it to search for the points of least resistance. The root-tips having penetrated the soil, the older portions of the root continue this wedge action by growth in diameter, though, of course, elongation of the old parts of the root does not take place. It is the widening growth of the tapering root that produces the wedge-like action. The crevices of the rock are sometimes broadened, but the resistance here is so great, the root is often greatly flattened out.

786. (2) Grappling the substratum.—The mere penetration of a single root into the soil gives it some hold on the soil and it offers some resistance to a “pull” since it has wedged its way in and the contact of soil particles offers resistance. The root hairs formed on the first entering root growing laterally in great numbers and applying themselves very closely to the soil particles, increase greatly the hold of the plant on the soil, as one can readily see by pulling up a young seedling. Lateral roots are soon formed, and as these continue to extend and ramify in all directions, the hold is increased until in the case of some of the larger plants the resistance their hold would offer would equal many tons. Even in some of the smaller shrubs and herbs the resistance is considerable, as one can easily test by pulling with the hand. To obtain some idea of the amount of resistance the roots of these smaller plants offer, they can be tested by pulling with the ordinary spring scales.

787. (3) A congenial moisture, or water relation.—In general, the roots seek those portions of the soil provided with a modicum of moisture. Usually a suitable moisture condition is present in those portions of the soil containing the plant food. But if portions of the soil are too dry and very nearby other portions containing moisture, the roots grow mainly into the moist substratum (hydrotropism). If the soil is too wet, the roots grow away from it to soil with less water, or in some cases will grow to and upon the surface of the soil.

The roots need aeration, and where the supply of water is too great, the air is shut out, and we know that corn, wheat, and many other plants become “sickly” in low and undrained soil in wet seasons. This can only be said in the case of our ordinary dry land plants, i.e., those that occupy an intermediate position between water-loving plants and dry-conditioned plants. This phase of the subject must be reserved for special treatment. (See Chapter XLVI.)

788. (4) Distribution of roots for the purpose of reaching food-laden soil.—This is one of the essential relations of the root in the case of the land plant, and probably accounts for the very extensive ramification of the roots. To some extent it also explains the different root systems in some plants. The pines, spruces, etc., usually grow in regions where the soil is very shallow. The root system does not extend deeply into the soil. It spreads laterally and extends widely through the shallow surface soil and presents a very different aspect from the stem system in the air. The root system of the broad-leaved trees usually extends more deeply into the soil, while of course, extending laterally to great distances. The hickory, walnut, etc., especially have strong tap-roots which extend deeply into the soil, and the root system of such a tree is more comparable in aspect, if it were entirely uncovered, to the stem system in the air. The tap-root is more pronounced in some trees than in others. It may be that in the hickory and walnut the deep tap-root is important in supplying the tree with water in dry seasons, especially when growing on dry, gravelly soil which does not retain moisture on the surface nor hold it within two or three feet of the surface. Experiment has demonstrated, by pot culture of plants, that where soil rich in plant food lies adjacent to poor soil, no matter in what part of the pot the rich soil is, the greatest growth and branching of roots is in the rich soil.

789. (5) Exposure of root surface for absorption.—The principal part of root absorption takes place in the young root and the root hairs growing near the root-tip. The root-tips and root hairs in their relation to the root systems on which they are borne are not to be compared morphologically with the leaves and stem system. But the root-tips and hairs are absorbing organs of the roots while the main root system supports them, brings them into relation with the soil and moisture, and conducts food and other substances to and from them. One of the important relations of the leaf is that of light, and since the source of light is restricted, i.e., it is not equally strong from all sides, an expanded and thin leaf-blade is more effective than an equal expenditure of plant material in the form of thread-like outgrowths. It is different, however, with the plant food dissolved in the soil water. It is equally accessible on all sides. A greater surface for absorption is exposed with the same expenditure of material by multiplication of the organs and a reduction in their size. Numerous delicate root hairs present a greater absorbing surface than if the same amount of material were massed into leaf-like expansions. There is another important advantage also. Its slender roots and thread-like root hairs allow greater freedom of circulation of water, food solutions, and air than if the absorbing organs of the roots were broadly expanded.

790. (6) The renewal of the delicate structures for absorption.—The delicate root hairs are easily injured. The thin cell-walls through which food solutions flow become more or less choked by the gradual deposit of substances in solution in the water, and continued growth of the root in diameter forms a firmer epidermis and cortex through which the solutions taken up by the root hairs would pass with difficulty. For this reason new root hairs are constantly being formed on the growing root-tip throughout the growing season, and in the case of perennial plants, through each season of their growth.

791. (7) Aid in preparation of food from raw materials.—For most plants the food obtained from the soil is already in solution in the soil water. But there are certain substances (examples, some of the chemical compounds of potash, phosphoric acid, etc.) which are insoluble in water. Certain acids excreted by the roots aid in making these substances soluble (see Chapter III). In a number of plants the roots have become associated with fungus or bacterial organisms which assist in the manufacture of nitrogenous food substances, or even in the absorption of ordinary food solution from the soil, or in making use of the decaying humus of the forest (see Chapter IX).

792. (8) The maintenance of the required balance between the environment and the increasing or changing requirements of the plant.—In this matter the entire plant participates. Mention is made here only of the general relation which the root sustains to its own environment and the increased burden placed upon it by the shoot. The increase in the root system keeps pace with the increasing size of the stem system. The roots become stronger, their ramifications wider, and the number of absorbing rootlets more numerous. The observation is sometimes offered that the correlation between the root system of a plant, and the form of the stem system and position of the leaves, is of such a nature that plants with a tap-root system have their leaves so arranged as to shed the water to the center of the system, while plants with a fibrous-root system have their leaves so arranged as to shed the water outward. In support of this attention is called to the radiate type of the leaf system of the dandelion, beet, etc. In the second place the imbricate type as manifested in broad-leaved trees, and in the overlapping branch systems of many pines, etc. One should note, however, that in the former class the leaves are often arranged to shed as much water outward as inward. As to the latter class, there is need of experiment to determine whether these empirical observations are correct, for the following reasons: 1st, Root and leaf distribution are governed by other and more important laws, the root being influenced by the location of food in the soil which usually forms a very thin stratum while the shoot and leaf is mainly influenced by light, and root distribution is much wider in a lateral direction than that of the branches. 2d, In light rains the leaf surface holds back practically all the rain which is then evaporated into the air and lost to the root systems. 3d, In heavy and long-continued rains the water breaks through the leaf system to such an extent that roots under the tree would be as well supplied as those outside, and the ground outside being saturated anyway, the roots do not need the small additional water which may have been shed outward. 4th, It is the habit of plants where left undisturbed (except in rare cases), to grow in more or less dense formations or societies. Here there is no opportunity for any appreciable centrifugal distribution of rainfall and yet the root distribution is practically the same, except that the root systems of adjacent plants are interlaced.

II. Kinds of Roots.

793. The root system.—From the foregoing, it will be understood that the roots of a plant taken together form the root system of that plant. In soil-roots in general we usually recognize two kinds of root systems.

794. The fibrous-root system.—Roots which are composed of numerous slender branching roots resembling “fibers,” are termed fibrous, or the plant is said to have a fibrous-root system. The bean, corn, most grasses, and many other plants have fibrous-root systems.

795. The tap-root system.—Plants with a recognizable central shaft-like root, more or less thickened and considerably stouter than the lateral roots, are said to have tap roots, or they have a tap-root system. The dandelion, beet, carrot (see crown tuber) are examples. The hickory, walnut, and some other trees have very prominent tap-roots when young. The tap-root is maintained in old age, but the lateral roots often become finally as large as the tap-root. Besides tap-roots and fibrous-roots, which include the larger number, several other kinds of roots are to be enumerated.

796. Aerial roots.—Aerial roots are most abundantly developed in certain tropical plants, especially in the orchids and aroids. Many examples of these plants are grown in conservatories. The amount of moisture is so great in these tropical regions that the roots are abundantly supplied without the soil relation. Certain of the roots hang free in the air and are provided with a special sheath of spongy tissue called the velamen, through which moisture is absorbed from the air. Other roots attach themselves to the trunk or branches of the tree on which the orchid is growing, and furnish the support to the epiphyte, as such plants are often called. Among the tangle of these clinging roots falling leaves are caught. Here they decay and nourishing roots grow from the clinging roots into this mass of decaying leaves and supply some of the plant food. Aerial roots sometimes possess chlorophyll.

There are a number of plants, however, in temperate regions which have aerial roots. These are chiefly used to give the stem support as it climbs on trees or on walls. They are sometimes called clinging roots. A common example is the climbing poison-ivy (Rhus radicans), the trumpet creeper, etc. Such aerial roots are called adventitious roots.

797. Bracing roots, or prop roots.—These are developed in a great variety of plants and serve to brace or prop the plant where the fibrous-root system is insufficient to support the heavy shoot system, or the shoot system branches so widely props are needed to hold up the branches. In the common Indian corn several whorls of bracing roots arise from the nodes near the ground and extend outward and downward to the ground, though the upper whorls do not always succeed in reaching the ground. The screw-pine so common in greenhouses affords an excellent example of prop roots. The roots are quite large, and long before the root reaches the soil the large root cap is evident. The banyan tree of India is a classic example of prop roots for supporting the wide-reaching branches. The mangrove in our own subtropical forests of Florida is a nearer example.

798. Buttresses are formed at the junction of the root and trunk, and therefore are part root and part stem. Splendid examples of buttresses are formed on the silk-cotton tree. They are sometimes formed on the elm and other trees in low swampy ground.

799. Fleshy roots, or root tubers.—These are enlargements of the root in the form of tubers, as in the sweet potato, the dahlia, etc. They are storage reservoirs for food. Portions of the roots become thick and fleshy and contain large quantities of sugar, as in the sweet potato, or of inulin (a carbohydrate) in the root tubers of the dahlia and other composites.

800. Water-roots and roots of water plants.—These are roots which are developed in the water, or in the soil. Water-roots are sometimes formed on land plants where the root comes in contact with a body of water, or a stream. Water-roots usually possess no root hairs, or but a few, as can be seen by comparing water-roots with soil-roots, or by comparing roots of plants grown in water cultures. The greater body of water in contact with the root and the more delicate epidermis of the root render less necessary the root hairs. The duck-meats (Lemna) are good examples of plants having only water-roots. Other aquatic plants like the potamogetons, etc., have true roots which grow into the soil and serve to anchor the plant, but they are not developed as special organs of absorption, since the stem and leaves largely perform this function.

801. Holdfasts.—These are organs for anchorage which are not true roots. These are especially well developed in some of the algæ (Fucus, Laminaria, etc.). They are usually called holdfasts. The holdfasts of the larger algæ are mainly for anchoring the plant. They do not function as absorbing organs, and the structure is different from that of true roots.

802. Haustoria or suckers is a name applied to another kind of holdfast employed by parasitic plants. In the dodder the haustorium penetrates the tissue of the host (the plant on which the parasite grows), and besides furnishing a means of attachment, it serves as an absorbing organ by means of which the parasite absorbs food from its host. The parasitic fungi like the powdery mildews which grow on the surface of their hosts have simple haustoria which serve both as organs of attachment and absorption, while in the rusts which grow in the interior of their hosts the haustoria are merely absorbing organs.

803. Rootlets, or rhizoids.—Many of the algæ, liverworts and mosses have slender, hair-like organs of attachment and absorption. These plants do not have true roots. Because of the slender form and small size of these organs, they are called rhizoids, or rootlets. In form many of them resemble the root hairs of higher plants.