Mineral

Mineral [ Geology ]
Adjective: Mineral

Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names


	*MINERAL* (Noun): A solid homogeneous inorganic substance formed through geological processes occurring naturally in the earth and which is neither vegetable nor animal.
	MINERAL (Adjective): of or containing or derived from minerals.

A mineral is a compound - usually obtained from the earth - having a definite chemical composition that vary form pure element (such as gold or sulphur) to simple (such as salts) or very complex compounds (such as silicates) Rocks , stones, sand are formed of one or more minerals. Over 2,000 types of minerals have been classified.
The study of minerals is called mineralogy. The term "mineral" encompasses not only the material's chemical composition but also the mineral structures. Most mineralogists include the requirements that a mineral have inorganic origin and internal crystalline structure. In accord with the latter requirement, an amorphous compound such as opal would be considered to be mineraloid.
Ground water dissolves these rock substances, and the dissolved minerals are present in tap water. Depending on the kinds of rocks the water comes in contact with, the minerals dissolved in the water may be just of a small amount of or they may be very concentrated.
The definition of mineral might also encompass (in a broad sense) some organic derivative, such as coal or petroleum. .

See also:

Mineral salt: The solid form of a mineral as it exists in solution occurring naturally in the earth's crust. needed , as nutrients, by living organisms.
Mineral substratum: A soil or potting medium consisting predominantly of, and having its properties determined predominantly by, mineral matter

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Holdfast roots [ Botany ]
Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names

Some species of climbing plants develop holdfast roots which help to support the vines on trees, walls, and rocks. By forcing their way into minute pores and crevices, they hold the plant firmly in place.

Climbing plants, like the poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata), and trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), develop holdfast roots which help to support the vines on trees, walls, and rocks. By forcing their way into minute pores and crevices, they hold the plant firmly in place. Usually the Holdfast roots die at the end of the first season, but in some species they are perennial. In the tropics some of the large climbing plants have hold-fast roots by which they attach themselves, and long, cord-like roots that extend downward through the air and may lengthen and branch for several years until they strike the soil and become absorbent roots.

Major references and further lectures:
1) E. N. Transeau “General Botany” Discovery Publishing House, 1994