THE ROOT 



29 



8. Fleshy roots. Other plants, again, like the 

 carrot, have fleshy roots. These fleshy roots are just 

 underground stores of food for the plant. Sometimes 



the food is stored in one 

 mass, as in the carrot, 

 sometimes the store is 

 spread over several fleshy 

 roots, as in the dahlia. 

 We have seen that every 

 root has two uses — to fix 

 the plant, and to seek food. 

 And now we see that some 

 roots have a third use — to 

 store up food. 



4. Roots from creeping 

 stems. In most cases, 

 roots grow out from the 

 seed in the manner of the 

 root of the French bean, or 

 in the manner of the root 

 of the wheat plant. But in some plants roots grow 

 also out of the stem. Plants with creeping stems, 

 like the couch grass, have the power to send down a 

 new root at each knot. And now we must ask why 

 roots differ so much in form. 



5. Why do roots differ in form ? We may be able 

 sometimes to answer the question if we keep in mind 

 the three uses of the root. A plant has the root that 

 suits it best for feeding and for fixing the plant, or for 

 storing the food. Take an example. Why has the 

 carrot a fleshy root ? Because the carrot's plan of life 

 is this : The first year it gives up its whole time to 

 growing green leaves and storing up food. Everything 



Boots from a creeping stem (after 

 von Mueller), 



