Morphology

Morphology [ Biology ]

Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names


	Morphology is the form and structure of an organism or of any part of an organism (plants, animals, and other forms of life). It is used to describe the form or shape characteristic.

Plant morphology [ Botany ]


	Plant morphology is the study of the external structure of plants ( leaves, stems, roots, flowers, fruits and seeds) and various growth forms that plants take and how such morphologies contribute to the success of each species. Compare with plant anatomy (the internal structure)

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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