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Shoot System- Stem Modifications-converted

The document describes the shoot system of plants, detailing its structure, including stems, branches, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. It explains the characteristics and functions of stems, as well as various modifications such as underground, sub-aerial, and aerial adaptations for specific functions like perennation and vegetative propagation. Examples of different stem modifications, including rhizomes, corms, tubers, bulbs, runners, suckers, stolons, and offsets, are provided to illustrate their roles in plant growth and reproduction.

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sarveshniranjan2008
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12 views9 pages

Shoot System- Stem Modifications-converted

The document describes the shoot system of plants, detailing its structure, including stems, branches, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. It explains the characteristics and functions of stems, as well as various modifications such as underground, sub-aerial, and aerial adaptations for specific functions like perennation and vegetative propagation. Examples of different stem modifications, including rhizomes, corms, tubers, bulbs, runners, suckers, stolons, and offsets, are provided to illustrate their roles in plant growth and reproduction.

Uploaded by

sarveshniranjan2008
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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S

SHOOT SYSTEM
1. It is an aerial system, usually above the soil and originates from the plumule.
2. It consists of stem, branches, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds.

Characteristic features of the stem


• It is a direct prolongation of the plumule.
• It is negatively geotropic and positively phototropic.
• It bears branches, leaves and flowers.
• It is distinguishable into nodes and internodes. It lacks a terminal cap.
• A node is formed at the place from where a leaf arises i.e., the place of origin of a leaf
on the stem apex is differentiated as the node.
• The space between two successive nodes is called internode. Stem is generally green
when young and later often become woody and dark brown
• The branches and leaves arise from the nodes. It often bears multicellular hairs.
• The growth of shoot system is accomplished by buds. The buds may be vegetative or
flowering.

Functions of stem
• stem is spreading out branches
• Photosynthesis.
• Stem facilitates conduction of water, mineral and food material.
• Produces and supports leaves and reproductive structure.
MODIFICATIONS OF STEM
• The stem and branches of certain plants undergo various types of modifications
to perform special type of functions such as:
(a) Perennation by underground modifications;
(b) Vegetative propagation by sub-aerial modifications and
(c) Specialised functions by aerial modifications.

Underground stem modifications of


• Some perennial herbs develop their stems underground for the purpose of
perennation
• During unfavourable conditions. The stem produces aerial branches every year
when conditions become favourable.
• The underground stems are usually very thick as a result of heavy deposit of food
within them and hence they also act as storage organs.
• Besides they also help in vegetative propagation by means of their buds.
• These stems are non-green and leafless like roots but differ from them in the
following way :
✓ Presence of nodes and internodes, scale-leaves, axillary and terminal
buds.
✓ Absence of root hair and root cap.
The various types of underground modifications of stem are as follows:
Rhizome: Banana– Musa paradisiaca
Indian shot-Canna Indica
Ginger- Zingiber officinale
Turmeric- Curcuma longa
ferns etc.
Corm: Colocasia - Colocasia esculenta
‘Zamikand’-Amorphophallus campanulatus
Tuber: (potato) Solanum tuberosum
Bulb: scaly or imbricate (garlic) Allium sativum
tunicate (onion)- Allium cepa

Rhizome:
• Rhizomes are colourless and apparently leafless and, therefore can be mistaken
as roots.
• It is a thick and prostrate stem. It grows horizontally forward under soil surface.
• Nodes and internodes are very distinct.
• Generally branched.
• Bears several axillary and terminal buds.
• It bears adventitious roots all over.

• Eg: Banana– Musa paradisiaca


Indian shot-Canna Indica
Ginger- Zingiber officinale
Turmeric- Curcuma longa
ferns etc.
Note: Type of stem in Banana is rhizome and modification is sucker Banana
propagates through rhizome. Aerial part of banana plant which looks like stem is
pseudostem (leaf bases).

Corm:
• It is highly swollen vertical stem.
• Nodes and internodes are not very distinct.
• Generally unbranched.
• Bears few axillary and terminal buds.
• Adventitious roots are borne by basal nodes only.
• Eg: Colocasia - Colocasia esculenta
• ‘Zamikand’-Amorphophallus campanulatus
Tuber:
• Irregularly shaped swollen stem.
• Stores plenty of food.
• It is differentiated into nodes and internodes. The ‘eyes’ on potato tuber indicate
axillary buds at the nodes.
• It bears scaly leaves. The leaves do not store food.
• Axillary buds arise at the nodes.
• Does not bear roots.
Eg. Solanum tuberosum (potato).
Bulb:
• It is characterised by having a discoid stem.
• Does not store food.
• Since it is highly reduced, nodes and internodes are not distinct.
• It bears large and fleshy scaly leaves which store food.
• Axillary buds arise in the axile of fleshy leaves.
• Bears several fibrous roots.
• The bulbs are of two types,
✓ scaly or imbricate (garlic) Allium sativum
✓ tunicate (onion)- Allium cepa

•
SUB-AERIAL STEM MODIFICATIONS
• These are horizontally growing branches which grow either just above the
surface (sub-aerial) or just below the surface of the soil.
• They are produced for the purpose of vegetative propagation.
• The various types of sub-aerial modifications are runner, sucker, stolon and
offset.
Runner:
• Such plants have long and thin internodes and branches creep over the surface of
soil.
• Such branches develop adventitious roots at nodes on lower side.
• When long branches break up by any method they form new plants.
• In this way large number of new plants is formed.
Eg; Oxalis triangularis,
Hydrocotyle vulgaris
(Doob grass)Cynodon dactylon
Strawberry- Fragaria ananassa)
grass,

Hydrocotyle vulgaris

Stolon :
• Branches of some plants arise from nodes of underground portions of stem and
grow in the horizontal direction.
• After growing for sometime the apical region of the branches comes out of the
soil, grows into air and roots arise from lower side of nodes.
• It is like a runner with the difference that the stolon grows horizontally below
the soil surface while the runner grows above the surface of soil,
Eg: Colocasia- Colocasia esculenta
Strawberry- Fragaria ananassa)
Mint(Pudina)- Mentha
Jasmine-Jasminum
Sucker:
• This stem also arises from the axillary branch arising from the node of
underground stem.
• Such a branch moves obliquely or sometimes grows horizontally under the
surface of soil and then comes out of the soil growing obliquely upwards.
• Adventitious roots arise from the nodes of underground portion of stem.
Branches break up from the parent plant, thus forming a new independent plant,
Eg: Chrysanthemum morifolium
Rose- Rosa
Mint(Pudina)- Mentha
Banana-– Musa paradisiaca
Pineapple-Ananas comosus

Offset:
• This stem is like a runner but the internodes are thicker and shorter.
• Branches arise all around the main stem.
• Apex of each branch gets curved upwards bearing a group of leaves at the apex
and a bundle of adventitious roots below.
• The branches break off from the parent and become an independent plant
, Eg: Pistia stratiotes (water lettuce)
Eichhornia crassipes (Water hyacinth).

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