Specialized Roots

Food Storage Roots Most roots store some

food

Some are enlarged to store starch and other carbohydrates

Examples: sweet potato, carrot, beet, radish

Extend above the surface of water

for plants that grow in swampy areas

Helps roots exchange gases

Example: Mangrove

Pneumatophores

Mangrove

Roots that occur above the surface of the soil Examples: prop roots in corn (support in high

wind)

Aerial Roots

Adventitious roots in ivy for

climbing

Aerial Roots Continued

Poison Ivy

Peg-like projections penetrate

host’s stem Usually in plants that do not

contain chlorophyll (can’t make food)

Examples: pinedrops, dodder (one organisms benefits, one is

harmed)

Parasitic Roots

Pinedrops

—Not green!

Dodder: NO Chlorophyll

Huge roots near base of

trunk Usually in trees that grow in

shallow soil Rainforest environmentsExample: many tropical trees

Buttress Roots

Buttress Roots

Buttress Roots