Getting to Know Plants - Science and Tech NCERT Notes for UPSC

Plant is a living thing that grows in the soil and has various parts such as stem, root, leaf, flower, and fruit. Navigate further to know more about plants and upgrade your UPSC CSE preparation. 

Major Categories of Plants

Plants are usually grouped into herbs, shrubs and trees based on their height, nature of stem and branches.

• Herbs: Plants with green and tender stems, usually short and may not have many branches. E.g., Sunflower etc.
• Shrubs: Plants that have branches near the base of the stem. The stem is hard but not very thick. E.g., Lemon etc.
• Trees: Very tall and have hard and thick stems. Stems have branches in the upper part, much above the ground. E.g., Mango etc.
• Creepers: Plants with weak stems that cannot stand upright but spread on the ground. E.g., Money Plant etc.
• Climbers: Plants that take support and climb up. E.g., Grapes etc.

Major Parts of the Plant

• Stem:
  • Stems bear leaves, branches, buds, flowers, and fruits.
  • Stem helps in the movement of water and minerals.
• Leaf:
  • Parts: Leaf usually has petiole and lamina.
    • The part of the leaf by which it is attached to the stem is called Petiole.
    • The broad, green part of the leaf is called Lamina.
    • Reticulate venation: Net-like venation on both sides of the midrib.
    • Parallel venation: Veins are parallel to one another.
  • Structure: Lines on the leaf are called Veins. Prominent line in the middle of the leaf is Midrib.
    The design made by veins in a leaf is called the Leaf venation which is of two types:
    • Reticulate venation: Net-like venation on both sides of the midrib.
    • Parallel venation: Veins are parallel to one another.
  • Functions:
    • Leaves give out water vapour through the process of transpiration.
    • Green leaves make food by the process of photosynthesis using carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight.

• Root:
  • Roots absorb water and minerals from the soil.
  • Anchor the plant to the soil.
  • Roots are mainly of two types: Tap (Main) root and Fibrous (small) root.
  • Plants having leaves with reticulate venation have tap roots while plants having leaves with parallel venation have fibrous root.

• Flower:
  • Parts: Sepals, Petals, Stamens and Pistil.

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