🌿 Plant Morphology Notes
🌱 Root Structure
- Root cap: Thimble-like protector at root tip (pushes through soil!)
- Three special regions:
- Meristematic region: Just above root cap – cells actively divide here
- Elongation region: Where cells grow longer – makes root longer
- Maturation region: Where root hairs form – absorbs water & minerals
🪴 Stem Features
- Main upward-growing part of plant
- Develops from seed’s plumule
- Bears:
- Nodes: Where leaves attach
- Internodes: Spaces between nodes
- Buds: Can be terminal (tip) or axillary (side)
- Functions: Supports leaves/flowers, transports water/food, stores nutrients
🍃 Leaf Structure (Photosynthesis Powerhouse!)
Three Main Parts:
- Leaf base – Attaches leaf to stem
- Petiole – Leaf stalk (positions blade toward light 🌞)
- Lamina – Green, flat blade with veins
🌿 Special Features:
- Stipules – Small leaf-like structures at leaf base
- Pulvinus – Swollen leaf base (in some plants)
- Midrib – Central vein of leaf
Leaf Venation Types
🕸️ Reticulate
Net-like pattern
(Common in dicot plants)
➖ Parallel
Straight parallel veins
(Common in monocot plants)
🍂 Leaf Types
- Simple leaf: Single blade (incisions don’t reach midrib)
- Compound leaf: Many leaflets
- Pinnate: Leaflets along central axis (neem tree)
- Palmate: Leaflets from single point (silk cotton)
⭐ NEET Must-Knows
- Root regions & functions (especially root hair absorption)
- Reticulate vs. parallel venation (dicot vs. monocot identifier)
- Simple vs. compound leaves (pinnate vs. palmate differences)
- Phyllotaxy patterns (alternate/opposite/whorled arrangement)
- Stem functions (support, transport, storage)
