Morphology of Flowering Plants Test - 6

Tuberous root is a thick and fleshy root, like a tuber but without buds. Examples of plants with notable tuberous roots include the sweet potato, cassava, and dahlia.

Stipules give protection to axillary bud. They occur where the base of the leaf petiole joins the stem, and are a reliable tool in plant identification. Usually they are small and in pairs, one on each side of the petiole base.

The central axis of banana that is concealed at the bottom of the pseudostem is called shaft. At the time of flowering, the shaft elongates, pierces through the pseudostem and produces an inflorescence terminally.

The seed coat is fused with the pericarp in caryopsis. The caryopsis is popularly called a grain and is the fruit typical of the family Poaceae (or Gramineae), which includes wheat, rice, and corn.

Underground stems have distinct nodes and internodes. The nodes bear dry scale leaves with axillary buds. Terminal buds are also present.
Examples of underground stems include corms,rhizomes and tubers.

Many pitchers are lined with downward pointing hairs and waxy scales which cause prey to slip into the bottom of the pitcher. Prey are eventually broken down by digestive enzymes (such as proteases) which are secreted from the wall of the pitcher. Rainfall can accumulate in the bottom of the pitcher, creating a habitat for aquatic life, such as protozoa, mosquito larvae and even frogs (called a phytotelma).

Fusiform root modification is seen in radish. In this modification, the primary root is swollen in the middle while both the ends gradually taper forming a spindle-shaped structure.

This is the type of modification is found in turnip.

In the garden pea, it is only the terminal leaflets that are modified to become tendrils. In other plants, such as the yellow vetch (Lathyrus aphaca), the whole leaf is modified to become tendrils, while the stipules become enlarged and carry out photosynthesis.

In palmate roots, the fleshy roots are thickened like the palm of human hand. They similarly possess finger-like outgrowths, e.g., Orchis