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Bentuk akar yang bulat panjang seperti benang ternyata paling penting bagi penyerapan air dan unsur hara yang terlarut dalam larutan tanah. Selain akar yang berbentuk benang, Rambut Akar juga ikut menyerap ion dan air. Pergerakan air dan unsur hara yang terlarut di dalamnya ke bagian muda akar berhubungan dengan lintasan Apoplas dan Simplas.
Lintasan apoplas terutama mengikutsertakan difusi dan aliran masa air dari sel ke sel melalui ruang di antara polisakarida dinding sel. Diyakini bahwa lintasan apoplas selalu berlanjut dari rambut akar atau sel epidermis lain ke endodermis. Pita Caspary endodermis yang kedap air memaksa semua bahan masuk ke sel endodermis melintasi membrane plasma. Artinya bahwa membrane plasma sel endodermis merupakan batas akhir bagi akar untuk mengendalikan masuknya unsur hara terlarut.
Lintasan simplas dari sel rambut akar ke endodermis dan melintas sepanjang endodermis itu ke sel xylem mati yang tak bermembran plasma. Tapi, akar sebagian besar angiosperma memiliki pita Caspary lain di hypodermis, yang disebut eksodermis. Pita ini berkembang dan menjadi dewasa di daerah yang lebih jauh dari ujung akar (sampai 12 cm), tidak seperti pita serupa di endodermis, sehingga pita itu terletak di daerah akar primer yang agak tua, tapi yang belum kehilangan sel luarnya. Eksodermis ini membatasi pergerakan zat warna dan ion sulfat menuju korteks, sehingga keberadaannya merupakan titik kendali penting yang mendorong zat terlarut luar terserap oleh membran plasma tertentu di sel eksodermis. Setelah berada di dalam sitosol eksodermis, ion dapat bergerak menuju xylem dari sel ke sel melalui lintasan simplas.
Ion yang diserap oleh sel epidermis dan bergerak menuju xylem melalui jalur simplas haruslah menembus epidermis, eksodermis, beberapa sel korteks, endodermis dan akhirnya perisiklus. Tiap pergerakan dari sel hidup yang satu ke sel yang lain dapat meliputi pengangkutan langsung yang menembus kedua dinding primer, lamela tengah diantaranya, serta kedua membram plasma dari sel yang berdampingan. Atau ion dapat bergerak melalui plasmodesmata berbentuk tabung yang menembus dinding sel yang bersebelahan dan lamela tengah di antaranya pada hampir semua sel tumbuhan hidup.
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants make food. The word photosynthesis means putting together with light. In green plants, sunlight captured by chlorophyll enables carbon dioxide from the air to unite with water and minerals from the soil and create food. This process also releases oxygen into the air. People and animals must have this oxygen to breathe. Most photosynthesis takes place in small bodies called chloroplasts within the cells of plant leaves. These chloroplasts contain chlorophyll, which absorbs sunlight. Energy from the sun splits water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen joins with carbon from the carbon dioxide to produce sugar. The sugar helps a plant make the fat, protein, starch, vitamins, and other materials that it needs to survive. See PHOTOSYNTHESIS. Some plants, called parasites and saprophytes, have little or no chlorophyll and cannot produce their own food through photosynthesis. These plants must rely on outside sources for food. Parasites attach to living plants and take the nutrients they need from these plants. Saprophytes grow on dead and decaying organisms, or use organic substances produced by living organisms for food. Mistletoe and dodder are common parasites found in many parts of the world. Mistletoe grows on the trunks and branches of many trees. It is called a partial parasite because it also makes some of its own food. Indian pipe is a saprophyte that grows near fungi. It uses organic materials produced by fungi for food. A plant called giant rafflesia is a parasite that grows on the roots and stems of other plants. It bears the largest flower of any known plant. Rafflesia flowers may grow over 3 feet (91 centimeters) wide. Respiration breaks down food and releases energy for a plant. The plant uses the energy for growth, reproduction, and repair. Respiration involves the breakdown of sugar. Some of the products resulting from this breakdown combine with oxygen, releasing carbon dioxide, energy, and water. Unlike photosynthesis, which takes place only during daylight, respiration goes on day and night throughout the life of a plant. Respiration increases rapidly with the spring growth of buds and leaves, and it decreases as winter approaches. Factors affecting plant growth. A plant's growth is shaped by both its heredity and its environment. A plant's heredity, for example, determines such characteristics as a flower's color and general size. These hereditary factors are passed on from generation to generation. Environmental factors include sunlight, climate, and soil condition. Hereditary factors. Within the nucleus of all plant cells are tiny bodies called chromosomes that contain hereditary units called genes. These bodies contain "instructions" that direct the growth of the plant. As the cells divide and multiply, the "instructions" are passed on to each new cell. See CELL; HEREDITY. Substances made within a plant also play a part in regulating plant growth. These substances, called hormones, control such activities as the growing of roots and the production of flowers and fruit. Botanists do not know exactly how all plant hormones work. But they have learned that certain hormones, called auxins, affect the growth of buds, leaves, roots, and stems. Other growth hormones, called gibberellins, make plants grow larger, cause blossoming, and speed seed germination. Still other hormones called cytokinins make plant cells divide. Environmental factors. All plants need light, a suitable climate, and an ample supply of water and minerals from the soil. But some species grow best in the sun, and others thrive in the shade. Plants also differ in the amount of water they require and in the temperatures they can survive. Such environmental factors affect the rate of growth, the size, and the reproduction of all plants. The growth of plants also is affected by the length of the periods of light and dark they receive. Some plants, including lettuce and spinach, bloom only when the photoperiod (period of daylight) is long. Such plants are called long-day plants. On the other hand, asters, chrysanthemums, and poinsettias are short-day plants. They bloom only when the dark period is long. Still other plants, among them marigolds and tomatoes, are not affected by the length of the photoperiod. They are called day-neutral plants. Plants also are affected in other ways by their environment. For example, a plant may display a bending movement called a tropism. In a tropism, an outside stimulus (force) causes a plant to bend in one direction. A plant may have either a positive or a negative tropism, depending on whether the plant bends toward or away from the stimulus. Tropisms are named according to the stimuli that cause them. Phototropism is bending caused by light, geotropism is caused by gravity, and hydrotropism is caused by water. A plant placed in a window exhibits positive phototropism when its stems and leaves grow toward the source of light. Roots, on the other hand, display negative phototropism and grow away from light. However, roots demonstrate positive geotropism. Even if a seed or bulb is planted upside down, its roots grow downward-toward the source of gravity. The stem of the same bulb shows negative geotropism by growing upward-away from the source of gravity. Hydrotropism occurs chiefly in roots and is almost always positive. See TROPISM. Some plants are affected by being touched. When the sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica, is touched, its leaflets quickly fold and its branches fall against its stem. A change in pressure within certain cells of the plant causes this action. After the stimulus has been removed, the plant's branches and leaflets return to their original position.
