Lecture 11 - Morphology of Root, Stem and Leaf | Plant Anatomy - Biotechnology Engineering (BT) PDF Download

 Page 1


 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 
                                                                                              
Lesson Prepared Under MHRD project “National Mission on 
Education Through ICT” 
Discipline: Botany 
Paper: Plant Anatomy 
National Coordinator: Prof. S.C. Bhatla, University of Delhi 
Lesson: Morphology of Root, Stem and Leaf 
Lesson Developer: Dr. Pooja Gokhale Sinha and Dr. Ajit 
Kumar Kavathekar 
Department/College: Sri Venkateswara College, University 
of Delhi 
Lesson Reviewer: Prof. S.C. Bhatla 
Department/College: Botany Department 
Language Editor: Dr. Arun Kumar Maurya 
Department/College: Botany Department, Dyal Singh 
College, 
University of Delhi 
Lesson Editor: Dr. Rama Sisodia, Fellow in Botany ILLL 
 
Page 2


 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 
                                                                                              
Lesson Prepared Under MHRD project “National Mission on 
Education Through ICT” 
Discipline: Botany 
Paper: Plant Anatomy 
National Coordinator: Prof. S.C. Bhatla, University of Delhi 
Lesson: Morphology of Root, Stem and Leaf 
Lesson Developer: Dr. Pooja Gokhale Sinha and Dr. Ajit 
Kumar Kavathekar 
Department/College: Sri Venkateswara College, University 
of Delhi 
Lesson Reviewer: Prof. S.C. Bhatla 
Department/College: Botany Department 
Language Editor: Dr. Arun Kumar Maurya 
Department/College: Botany Department, Dyal Singh 
College, 
University of Delhi 
Lesson Editor: Dr. Rama Sisodia, Fellow in Botany ILLL 
 
Plant Morphology: Morphology of root, stem and leaf 
 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 1 
 
 
 
Table of Contents      
Chapter: Plant Morphology: Morphology of Root, Stem and Leaf                                                              
? Introduction  
? Plant Body Organization 
? Organs 
? Tissues 
? Root System and their modifications 
? Shoot System  and their modifications 
? Summary  
? Exercise/ Practice 
? Glossary 
? References/ Bibliography/ Further Reading 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 3


 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 
                                                                                              
Lesson Prepared Under MHRD project “National Mission on 
Education Through ICT” 
Discipline: Botany 
Paper: Plant Anatomy 
National Coordinator: Prof. S.C. Bhatla, University of Delhi 
Lesson: Morphology of Root, Stem and Leaf 
Lesson Developer: Dr. Pooja Gokhale Sinha and Dr. Ajit 
Kumar Kavathekar 
Department/College: Sri Venkateswara College, University 
of Delhi 
Lesson Reviewer: Prof. S.C. Bhatla 
Department/College: Botany Department 
Language Editor: Dr. Arun Kumar Maurya 
Department/College: Botany Department, Dyal Singh 
College, 
University of Delhi 
Lesson Editor: Dr. Rama Sisodia, Fellow in Botany ILLL 
 
Plant Morphology: Morphology of root, stem and leaf 
 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 1 
 
 
 
Table of Contents      
Chapter: Plant Morphology: Morphology of Root, Stem and Leaf                                                              
? Introduction  
? Plant Body Organization 
? Organs 
? Tissues 
? Root System and their modifications 
? Shoot System  and their modifications 
? Summary  
? Exercise/ Practice 
? Glossary 
? References/ Bibliography/ Further Reading 
 
 
 
 
 
Plant Morphology: Morphology of root, stem and leaf 
 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 2 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Objects 
After studying this unit, you should be able to: 
? Understand and define the term morphology. 
? Recognize the variability in forms. 
? Correlate form to the functions they perform. 
? Distinguish between root and shoot system.  
? Comprehend that organs are made up of different kinds of tissues. 
? Visualize a tissue, an organ or a plant as a dynamic entity sensitive to its 
surrounding environment. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 4


 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 
                                                                                              
Lesson Prepared Under MHRD project “National Mission on 
Education Through ICT” 
Discipline: Botany 
Paper: Plant Anatomy 
National Coordinator: Prof. S.C. Bhatla, University of Delhi 
Lesson: Morphology of Root, Stem and Leaf 
Lesson Developer: Dr. Pooja Gokhale Sinha and Dr. Ajit 
Kumar Kavathekar 
Department/College: Sri Venkateswara College, University 
of Delhi 
Lesson Reviewer: Prof. S.C. Bhatla 
Department/College: Botany Department 
Language Editor: Dr. Arun Kumar Maurya 
Department/College: Botany Department, Dyal Singh 
College, 
University of Delhi 
Lesson Editor: Dr. Rama Sisodia, Fellow in Botany ILLL 
 
Plant Morphology: Morphology of root, stem and leaf 
 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 1 
 
 
 
Table of Contents      
Chapter: Plant Morphology: Morphology of Root, Stem and Leaf                                                              
? Introduction  
? Plant Body Organization 
? Organs 
? Tissues 
? Root System and their modifications 
? Shoot System  and their modifications 
? Summary  
? Exercise/ Practice 
? Glossary 
? References/ Bibliography/ Further Reading 
 
 
 
 
 
Plant Morphology: Morphology of root, stem and leaf 
 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 2 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Objects 
After studying this unit, you should be able to: 
? Understand and define the term morphology. 
? Recognize the variability in forms. 
? Correlate form to the functions they perform. 
? Distinguish between root and shoot system.  
? Comprehend that organs are made up of different kinds of tissues. 
? Visualize a tissue, an organ or a plant as a dynamic entity sensitive to its 
surrounding environment. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Plant Morphology: Morphology of root, stem and leaf 
 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Introduction 
In “considering the distinctive characters of plants and their nature generally one must take 
into account their parts, their qualities, the ways in which their life originate and the course 
which it follows in each case…..”  
Above is the translation by Sir Arthur Hort (1949) of the opening sentence of the famous 
book “Enquiry in Plants” by Theophrastus, written more than 300 B.C. ago (Sporne, 1965). 
Such an expression of plant body structure by Theophrastus has probably laid the basic 
foundation of the field morphology. Eminent botanist A. Arber (1946) considered such 
comprehensive description remarkable as it encompasses modern scientific fields, such as 
anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, reproduction and life histories. In essence, the form or 
the look is a combined manifestation of all of the above. Literally the word „Morphology? is 
ancient Greek in origin. However, term morphology in biological context was first used by a 
German poet and Philosopher J. W. Goethe in 1790. It means “study of form”. Simply put, 
plant morphology can be defined as the study of physical form and external features of a 
plant. 
What does the word “form” mean? It is simply defines how any object looks. Crudely, it 
reflects its shape. For an example, if you were asked to draw a picture of moon, how shall 
you draw? In all probability your drawings shall reflect a circle or a crescent, but never a 
rectangle or a triangle. Similarly if you were to draw a pencil, you invariably make a rod-like 
shape with a pointed end but in case of banana fruit, sketch shall depict a curve. All of us, 
thus perceive an object, be it living or non-living, to a particular “form”. This form is what 
one can call or describe as the “morphology” of that object. Can we say then that there are 
or could be as many forms as are the number of objects? 
 
Even early man, probably, used the „form? to distinguish edible and poisonous plants. How 
could they do it? Morphology must have been the most significant basis of distinction. The 
field of morphology must have been developing over a long period of time even before man 
Page 5


 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 
                                                                                              
Lesson Prepared Under MHRD project “National Mission on 
Education Through ICT” 
Discipline: Botany 
Paper: Plant Anatomy 
National Coordinator: Prof. S.C. Bhatla, University of Delhi 
Lesson: Morphology of Root, Stem and Leaf 
Lesson Developer: Dr. Pooja Gokhale Sinha and Dr. Ajit 
Kumar Kavathekar 
Department/College: Sri Venkateswara College, University 
of Delhi 
Lesson Reviewer: Prof. S.C. Bhatla 
Department/College: Botany Department 
Language Editor: Dr. Arun Kumar Maurya 
Department/College: Botany Department, Dyal Singh 
College, 
University of Delhi 
Lesson Editor: Dr. Rama Sisodia, Fellow in Botany ILLL 
 
Plant Morphology: Morphology of root, stem and leaf 
 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 1 
 
 
 
Table of Contents      
Chapter: Plant Morphology: Morphology of Root, Stem and Leaf                                                              
? Introduction  
? Plant Body Organization 
? Organs 
? Tissues 
? Root System and their modifications 
? Shoot System  and their modifications 
? Summary  
? Exercise/ Practice 
? Glossary 
? References/ Bibliography/ Further Reading 
 
 
 
 
 
Plant Morphology: Morphology of root, stem and leaf 
 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 2 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Objects 
After studying this unit, you should be able to: 
? Understand and define the term morphology. 
? Recognize the variability in forms. 
? Correlate form to the functions they perform. 
? Distinguish between root and shoot system.  
? Comprehend that organs are made up of different kinds of tissues. 
? Visualize a tissue, an organ or a plant as a dynamic entity sensitive to its 
surrounding environment. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Plant Morphology: Morphology of root, stem and leaf 
 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Introduction 
In “considering the distinctive characters of plants and their nature generally one must take 
into account their parts, their qualities, the ways in which their life originate and the course 
which it follows in each case…..”  
Above is the translation by Sir Arthur Hort (1949) of the opening sentence of the famous 
book “Enquiry in Plants” by Theophrastus, written more than 300 B.C. ago (Sporne, 1965). 
Such an expression of plant body structure by Theophrastus has probably laid the basic 
foundation of the field morphology. Eminent botanist A. Arber (1946) considered such 
comprehensive description remarkable as it encompasses modern scientific fields, such as 
anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, reproduction and life histories. In essence, the form or 
the look is a combined manifestation of all of the above. Literally the word „Morphology? is 
ancient Greek in origin. However, term morphology in biological context was first used by a 
German poet and Philosopher J. W. Goethe in 1790. It means “study of form”. Simply put, 
plant morphology can be defined as the study of physical form and external features of a 
plant. 
What does the word “form” mean? It is simply defines how any object looks. Crudely, it 
reflects its shape. For an example, if you were asked to draw a picture of moon, how shall 
you draw? In all probability your drawings shall reflect a circle or a crescent, but never a 
rectangle or a triangle. Similarly if you were to draw a pencil, you invariably make a rod-like 
shape with a pointed end but in case of banana fruit, sketch shall depict a curve. All of us, 
thus perceive an object, be it living or non-living, to a particular “form”. This form is what 
one can call or describe as the “morphology” of that object. Can we say then that there are 
or could be as many forms as are the number of objects? 
 
Even early man, probably, used the „form? to distinguish edible and poisonous plants. How 
could they do it? Morphology must have been the most significant basis of distinction. The 
field of morphology must have been developing over a long period of time even before man 
Plant Morphology: Morphology of root, stem and leaf 
 
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 4 
became civilized. We may also realize that no two natural forms are exactly same or alike. 
At the same time some forms become characteristics of certain objects. Can you make a list 
of such variations and conformations in the plants of your neighborhood? 
  
The current chapter shall focus on the study of form, structure and organization of 
angiosperms. Angiosperms or flowering plants are the most diverse group of land plants 
that produce seeds in an enclosure of fruit wall. They differ from gymnosperms as they 
possess vessels for efficient conduction of water, flowers with different whorls, ovules 
enclosed in carpels, different mechanism of pollination and seed dispersal and double 
fertilization. 
  
Plant Body Organization 
Let us now discuss the body organization of a flowering plant. How do we choose a plant or 
a particular group of plants for our study? We generally use the phrase- “study of the 
morphology of a typical flowering plant”. Angiosperms could be annual (pulses), biennial 
(cabbage) or perennial (trees). It may be referred to as herb (potato, mustard); shrub 
(Dodonia, Murraya, Bougainvillea, Rose) or tree (Banyan, Mango) (Figure 1). An angiosperm 
could be as small as Wolffia (2 mm across) or as tall as 100 feet Eucalyptus. It could inhabit 
diverse phytogeographical regions, viz. warm tropics (banana, papaya, orchids); temperate 
mountains Rhododendron; deserts (cacti); water bodies (water hyacinth), estuarine zones 
(mangroves); crevices and rocks (Phlox, Alyssum, Primula); climbers, epiphytes (orchids), 
and so on (Figure 2). Above demarcation of categories to which a plant is referred thus 
depends on the parameter under consideration.  
You may well wonder are we going to study morphology of all these plants or groups of 
plant? If yes, how? If no, why? There are around 13,000 genera and 2,40,000 plant species 
inhabiting our planet (Takhtajan, 1980). It must be emphasized here that whatever be the 
size, age, the number or kinds of organs, tissues or cells a plant possesses at a given time 
or spread over a certain period of time, which or how many of these can be considered as 
an ideal to study body organization? For simplicity, we choose a model set of body 
organizational set-up that most of the plants possess. This set up is termed as a typical.