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Grapevine tendrils and leaves. Thorns. Cladodes. Aerial stem modifications are modifications to the aerial stems, [1] vegetative buds and floral buds of plants growing in different conditions and which perform functions such as climbing, protection, support, synthesis of food, or vegetative propagation.
Prickles on a blackberry branch. In plant morphology, thorns, spines, and prickles, and in general spinose structures (sometimes called spinose teeth or spinose apical processes), are hard, rigid extensions or modifications of leaves, roots, stems, or buds with sharp, stiff ends, and generally serve the same function: physically defending plants against herbivory.
Banyan trees are an example of a strangler fig that begins life as an epiphyte in the crown of another tree. Their roots grow down and around the stem of the host, their growth accelerating once the ground has been reached. Over time, the roots coalesce to form a pseudotrunk, which may give the appearance that it is strangling the host.
A fibrous root system is the opposite of a taproot system. It is usually formed by thin, moderately branching roots growing from the stem. A fibrous root system is universal in monocotyledonous plants and ferns. The fibrous root systems look like a mat made out of roots when the plant has reached full maturity.
A stem tuber is a thickened part of a rhizome or stolon that has been enlarged for use as a storage organ. [10] In general, a tuber is high in starch, e.g. the potato, which is a modified stolon. The term "tuber" is often used imprecisely and is sometimes applied to plants with rhizomes.
Adventitious roots arise out-of-sequence from the more usual root formation of branches of a primary root, and instead originate from the stem, branches, leaves, or old woody roots. They commonly occur in monocots and pteridophytes, but also in many dicots , such as clover ( Trifolium ), ivy ( Hedera ), strawberry ( Fragaria ) and willow ( Salix ).
A root tuber, tuberous root or storage root is a modified lateral root, enlarged to function as a storage organ. The enlarged area of the tuber can be produced at the end or middle of a root or involve the entire root. It is thus different in origin, but similar in function and appearance, to a stem tuber.
Different forms of underground stems include: [22] Bulb - Short, upright organ leaves modified into thick flesh scales. Tulips, daffodils [23] and Lilies. Corm - Short, upright, hard, or fleshy stems covered with thin, dry papery leaves. Rhizome - With reduced scale-like leaves. The top can generate leafy stems while the bottom can produce roots.