WORLD OF SCIENCE
Root of the matter
DR. T.V. PADMA
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Do you know what makes a root a root?
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A pair: Carrot.
What’s the similarity between a banyan tree and a corn plant? No, this isn’t a riddle, it’s a real question. The answer is rooted in their roots — both have special “roots” that give the stem extra support to help the plant stand straight, providing mechanical support. In the banyan tree, the roots start from the branches, and in the corn stalk, they begin at the base of the stem!
Here are some other pairs. Do you know what makes them similar, root-wise? Carrot and beetroot; black pepper and betel; ginger and onion.
Carrot and beetroot are both good to eat, of course, and that’s because the part we eat is a fleshy storage root.
Tricky pairs
Black pepper and betel have roots that grow from their thin stems and help the plants climb. The roots secrete a juice that helps them stick to vertical surfaces such as walls and poles and even the trunks of strong trees.
The last pair was a bit of a trick question. Ginger and onion are actually not roots at all, through they grow underground — they are both modified stems! Strange? Botanically, what makes a root a root is really what the root is — what’s internal to it, not necessarily whether it grows above or below the ground.
And here’s a pair that’s different though they have similar names: potato and sweet potato. The potato, is an underground stem, highly modified; but the sweet potato is a root.
If you want to pursue this topic a little more, here are some other interesting plants for you to root out some information on: turmeric, dahlia, radish, asparagus, tapioca, Indian spinach.
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