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Morphology of Flowering Plants – Flower, Fruit, Seed, Roots

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Morphology is nothing but the study of the external structure of the flowering plant. flowers have different parts from the flower from top to the bottom every part has a function to do in growing the flower, and also the flower has petals and in between the flower, it has the seed to pollen to get attached to the other flowers to the germination process. Morphology is the branch of science concerned with the study of organisms, structure, characteristics, and forms the flowering plants have a wide range of structural diversity that shares several common characteristics.

The wide range in the structure of higher plants will never fail to fascinate. even though the angiosperms show such a large diversity in external structure or morphology. They are all characterized by the presence of roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. these five similar traits may be found in the morphology of all angiosperms. The plants may or may not have flowers and fruits. flowering plants known as angiosperms are plants that produce flowers.  Flowers are blooming plants’ reproductive organs and the primary distinguishing features that set them apart from other seed plants. Those factors have resulted in angiosperms that allow plants to adapt to ecological plants. Pollination is the process through which flowering plants reproduce pollen grains are transferred from the male flower to the female flowers (stigma) fertilization and seed formation take place in that transferred process. Plant morphology tells us that about every plant has two systems that are a root system and a shoot system. The root system says deep into the ground and forms a system of its own. The shoot system is the one that is above the ground like the upper side of the ground level and various plant parts. Morphology of flowering plants has different parts like 

  • Root
  • Stem
  • Leaf
  • Inflorescence
  • Flower 
  • Fruit
  • Seed
Anatomy of Plant

 

Root

Most of the dicot plants have the direct elongation of the radicle is to the formation of the primary root which grows inside the soil it bears lateral roots of orders that are formed as secondary, and tertiary. the primary root is the tap root system. In monocot plants, the primary root is short-lived and replaced by a large number of roots the root originates from the base of the stem and constitutes the fibrous root system. The main function of the root system is to absorb water and minerals from the soil.
 
Regions of Root 

The root is covered with a root apex which is also called a root cap. It protects the tender apex of the root as it makes its way through the soil inside. The region of meristematic activity is also a region that region is very small this region divide repeatedly and forms the root enlargement and makes the root go into different sides, and the other region is the root elongation this region is responsible for the increasing the root to the size like increasing the length. Region of maturation region is at the base of the top in the ground and it contains the hair-like structures are root hairs that root hair helps in the absorption of the water from the soil.

Modification of Root

Roots in some plants change their structure and shape and become the modification to perform the function other than the absorption of water and minerals the root are also developed from different regions of the plant some from the branches and also from the plant the roots come upwards to the soil and grow  and some roots are storage roots that are like carrot, turnip, sweet potato, etc and all the roots are for the respiration has different ways 

Stem

The stem is the ascending part of the axis bearing branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits. They have the nodes and internodes and the region where the leaves are born is called nodes and the internodes are present between the two nodes. the stem bears buds which may be terminal or axillary. The stem is generally green later it becomes the wood it turns dark brown.

Modification of Stem

The stem may not always be typically like what they are expected to they are modified to perform different functions. The underground stems are potato, ginger, turmeric, zaminkanda, and colocasia are modified to store food in them. they also act as organs to tide over the conditions unfavorable for the growth conditions are unfavorable, and stem tendrils which develop from axillary buds are slender and spirally coiled and help plants to climb such as groups that are cucumber, watermelon, etc and grape veins. Auxiliary buds of the stem may also get modified into woody, straight, and pointed thrones, and these thrones are useful for the protection from grazing of plants and also reduce the transpiration of water from the plants and are found in the citrus and bougainvillea.

Leaf 

The leaf is a flattened structure born on the stem. It develops at the node and bears a bud in its axil. The axillary bud later develops into a branch. Leaves originate from shoot apical meristem and are arranged in an acropetal order they are the most important vegetative organs for photosynthesis. A typical leaf consists of three main parts they are leaf base and petiole and lamina. The leaf is attached to the stem by the leaf base and may bear two lateral small leaf-like structures called stipulates. In monocots the leaf base expands into the sheath covering the stem partially in some plants the leaf base may become swollen and this is called a pulvinus. The petiole helps hold the blade to light. The lamina blade is green expanding the part of the leaf which veins and veinlets. Veins provide rigidity to the leaf blade and act as channels for the transport of water. The shape, margin, apex, surface, and extent of incisions of lamina vary on the different leaves.

Venation

The arrangement of the leaves to the veins and veinlets in the lamina of the leaf is called venation. When there is a network-like structure is called reticulate venation, and when the leaves are arranged in equal or one on each side of veins and veinlets is called parrel venation. Some trees have reticulate venation and some have parallel venation and reticulate venation mostly shows on the dicot plants and parallel venation shows on the monocot plants.
 
Types of Leaves 

The leaves are been simple and compound leaves and the difference between the simple and compound is to be that when the incision does not touch the midrib is called a simple leaf and incisions that touch the midrib are called the compound leaves. The leaves also follow the arrangement in their growth that is opposite, whorled, alternate: opposite is the two leaves are grown on the one node and the alternate is been it is one node is leaving between the one node is grown the leaf and the whorled are the more than two are raised at one node is called whorled leaves.

Inflorescence

The flower is modified as shoot in the shoot apical meristem changes to the floral meristem. internodes do not elongate and the axis gets condensed. the apex gets different kinds of floral appendages laterally at successive nodes instead of leaves. when a shoot tip transverse into a flower it is always solitary. The arrangement of flowers on the floral axis is termed an inflorescence. These two types of inflorescence are cymose and racemose. the racemose type the main axis continues to grow the flowers are brown laterally in acropetal succession. in the cymose type, the main axis terminates in the flower and it is limited. The flowers are brown in a basipetal order.

The Flower

Parts of Flower

 

The flower is the reproductive unit in the angiosperms. The flower has four different kinds of whorls arranged successfully on the end of the pedicle called the thalamus. These are calyx, corolla, androecium, and gynoecium. The calyx and corolla are accessory organs while androecium and gynoecium are the
reproductive organs in some flowers like lily calyx and corolla are distinct and are termed as perianth. When the flower is both androecium and gynoecium it is bisexual. A flower having only stamens is unisexual.

The flower may be actinomorphic or zygomorphic when a flower can be divided into two equal radial halves in any plane passing through the center this is said to be an actinomorphic example: chili. When it can be divided into two similar halves only in one particular vertical plane then it is zygomorphic. example: bean. A flower may be two types or three types that are trimerous, tetramerous, or pentamerous in the floral appendages are in multiples of 3,4,5. Based on the position of calyx, corolla, and androecium in respect of the ovary in the thalamus, the flower is described as hypogynous, perigynous, and epigynous.

Calyx

The calyx is the outermost whorl of the flower and the member are called sepals. The calyx may be gamosepalous are polysepalous.

Corolla

Corolla is composed of petals. Petals are usually bright colors to attract insects for pollination. The corolla may be gamopetalous are polypetalous.

Androecium

The androecium is composed of stamens. The stamens which represent the male reproductive organ consist of a stalk or filament and anther each anther is usually bilobed and each lobe has two chambers the pollen sacs. The pollen grain is produced in pollen sacs. A sterile stamen is called a staminode.

Gynoecium

The gynoecium is the female reproductive part of the flower and is made up of one or more carpels. Carpels consist of three parts namely Stigma, Style, and Ovary.

Fruit

The fruit is a characteristic feature of the flowering plant. The fruit is developed after fertilization and formed without fertilization of the ovary it is called parthenocarpic. The fruit consist of a wall and the wall is called a pericarp and seeds the pericarp may be dry and fleshy. When pericarp is thick and fleshy. It is different into layers. The outer layer is called the epicarp and the middle layer is the mesocarp and the inner layer is the endocarp.

Seed

The ovules after fertilization that develops into the seed are made up of seed coat and embryo. the embryo is made up of radicles the seed as two different structures are monocot seeds and dicot seeds so the monocot plants are from the monocot seeds and the dicot plant from the coat seeds. The outermost layer of the dicot seeds is the seedcoat and it is attached to the inner side of the seeds and the seedcoat as two different layers the testa, and tegmen. the monocot seeds are endosperm and non-endospermic these are generally cereals and maize in monocot seeds the seed coat is fused with the fruit wall. the dicot seeds as micropyle and phylum and two cotyledons and plumule and the radicle. Monocot seeds have the scutellum, coleoptyle, endo-sperm radicle, plumule, and coleorhiza.

Conceptual Questions

Question 1: Define morphology?

Answer: 

Morphology is the branch of science concerned with the study of organisms, structure, characteristics, and forms the flowering plants have a wide range of structural diversity that shares several common characteristics. 

Question 2: Who is the father of plant morphology?

Answer:

The German Botanist  Wilhelm Hofmeister is known as the Father of Plant Morphology.

Question 3: Define root? And name the regions of root?

Answer:

The root is the lower part of the plant and it is useful for the plants. and helps in the transportation of water from the ground to the different parts of the plant and it transportation of mineral nutrients to the plant. 

  • Regions of root
  • Region of maturation
  • Region of elongation
  • Region of meristematic activity 

Question 4: What are the modifications of the stem?

Answer:

  • Stem tendrils
  • Stem thrones
  • Phylloclades
  • Cladodes 

Question 5: Name the floral parts of the flowers?

Answer:  

The different floral parts of the flower are Calyx,  Corolla, androecium, gynoecium



Last Updated : 02 Dec, 2022
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