Specialized Roots
Feb 24, 2016
Specialized Roots
Food Storage Roots Most roots store some
food
Some are enlarged to store starch and other carbohydrates
Examples: sweet potato, carrot, beet, radish
Extend above the surface of water
for plants that grow in swampy areas
Helps roots exchange gases
Example: Mangrove
Pneumatophores
Mangrove
Roots that occur above the surface of the soil Examples: prop roots in corn (support in high
wind)
Aerial Roots
Adventitious roots in ivy for
climbing
Aerial Roots Continued
Poison Ivy
Peg-like projections penetrate
host’s stem Usually in plants that do not
contain chlorophyll (can’t make food)
Examples: pinedrops, dodder (one organisms benefits, one is
harmed)
Parasitic Roots
Pinedrops
—Not green!
Dodder: NO Chlorophyll
Huge roots near base of
trunk Usually in trees that grow in
shallow soil Rainforest environmentsExample: many tropical trees
Buttress Roots
Buttress Roots
Buttress Roots