Page 204 - Primary Six Notes

 Roots act as tubes to take water and mineral salts to the

stem

 Some roots help plants to breathe

There are 2 types of roots:

Primary roots and Secondary roots

Primary roots.

These are roots which grow from the radicle, i.e. tap roots and

fibrous roots

Secondary roots

These are types of roots which grow from any other part of a

plant like the stem and leaves. E,g;

Prop roots, Clasping roots, Stilt roots, roots of bulbs like on-

ions, Buttress roots, Roots of yams, Roots of rhizomes.

Types of Root System

1. Tap root system.

This type of root is formed when the radicle forms a large root

with small lateral branches e.g. in beans and carrots.

2. Fibrous root system.

This is a type of root system where there are many roots grow-

ing randomly having the same size and length there is no main

root. It has characteristics of monocotyledonous plants like

maize, millet, sorghum etc.