Plant Parts

A plant consists of some parts just like a human body including roots, stems, buds, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. Let’s look at each component. First, roots anchor and support the plant. It also absorbs water and nutrients in the soil. Through the roots, water and nutrients in the soil are brought into the plant and they play an essential role in sustaining the plant. In addition, roots store foods produced by the leaves of the plant. Next, stems support the above-ground structure of the plant. It transports water and nutrients from the roots to other parts of the plant. Whether it’s herbaceous or woody stems, they have common functions. And we can find vascular systems inside a plant. It’s an “essential network of tissues that interconnects all plant parts and delivers resources to various plant organs”[1]. Its function is similar to blood vessel systems in the animal and human body. It consists of xylem and phloem. Just like arteries and veins, xylem “transfers water and soluble minerals/nutrients from roots to other parts of the plant”[2], and phloem “transports food (sugars) from leaves to all parts of the plant”. Some of the foods are stored in the root as I mentioned above. They are in roots, stems, and leaves. If the vascular system is damaged to all 360 degrees of the plant, the plant is likely going to die.

 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

 

We can also find buds on a plant. Buds are “small swelling on the stem that may develop into a flower, leaf, or shoot (another stem)”[3]. They can be found at the tip of the stem (terminal buds), and on each side of the stem (lateral or auxiliary buds). A plant has leaves as well. They can have many different shapes, sizes, textures, and colors. These distinct features allow us to identify a plant species so a leaf is important in plant identification.

Source:  GROW Training Program “Introduction to Botany and Plant ID”

 

I am almost done with plant parts. Next are flowers also known as blooms or blossoms. Just like a leaf, flowers come in many shapes, sizes, textures, and colors. They attract insects or small birds for pollination and that’s how they function as a reproductive structure where sperm and egg cells unite, and seeds are produced. In many cases, fruits come after flowers. A fruit is formed from the ovary after flowering. It contains the seeds of a plant. The seeds carry genetic information for the next generation.

 

Source: GROW Training Program “Introduction to Botany and Plant ID”

 

 

<Reference>

Landscape Ontario, GROW Training Program: “Introduction to Botany and Plant ID”
Landscape Ontario, 2023 Garden Centre Introductory Horticultural Training Videos “Introduction to Botany and Plant ID”

 

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[1~3] Landscape Ontario, 2023 Garden Centre Introductory Horticultural Training Videos: “Introduction to Botany”