Adaptation & Nutrition

Cross Section of a Cucumber.

A plants structure, and internal transport are both major adaptations made to help increase the ability of the plant to survive and thrive.

A plant's structure, specifically angiosperms have tissues(group of cells with common goal) and organs(many tissues working for a common goal). The three major organs that contribute to its structure are the roots, stem and leaves which combined create the root system and the shoot system. The root system is everything that lay beneath the soil and the shoot system is everything above. The root system contributes to the plants ability to anchor itself to the substrate, uptake nutrients(minerals and water) from the soil and is used as a storage of sugars and starches while the angiosperm is either flowering or producing fruit. In Eudicots like the cucumber, the root system contains a taproot (as aposed to a fibrous root) adapted to penetrate deep into the soil to find ground water not close to the surface. The ability to uptake water is an important function of the root system. Uptake of minerals and water mostly occurs at the tips of the roots where small projections called 'root hairs' are used to increase surface area. These root hairs are constantly replaced due to their short existence. Like the modified stem/leaf the tendril, there are also modified roots for example the storage root which is seen in the carrot.

The stem's the organ of transport containing xylem and phloem which directs the flow of water to the leaves and sugars to the roots from the leaves (product of photosynthesis). The stem contains axillary buds, a terminal bud or apical bud and nodes and internodes. The axillary bud is a structure labeled above(bud) that has the ability to form a lateral shoot or branch with an apical bud at the tip and leaves. The apical bud, has the ability to stimulate growth, this is why pruning a shrub or tree(cutting of the apical bud) will make it bushier. The nodes are the point at which the leaves are attatched and the internodes are the segments of stem between them. Some type of stem modification is a tubers which is an enlarged end of a rhizome or stolon which is specialized in storing food, and create things like potatoes.

Leaves play an important role in plants. They are the main site of photosynthesis (conversion of light into energy in the form of glucose). There are many forms that a leaf can take including a compound leaf, doubly compound leaf or a simple leaf like the cucumber. The simple leaf is named such due to its undivided blade and is lobed edges. In a Eudicot, the leaf viens are in a net like fashion as apposed to the parallel veination in monocots like corn. A leaf modification that is exhibited in the cucumber plant is a tendril. This adaptation allows the plant to climb up trellises or cages for support and to gain better vantage point(closer to the sun) for photosynthesis.

Along with the plants structure, the ability of vascular tissues (transport tissues) xylem and phloem to move nutrients within the plant (similar to a humans circulatory system) is an adaptation enabling them to grow to to significant heights. Xylem, or the water-conduction system is composed of vessel elements (small tubes) and through the forces of adhesion (water adhering to a surface) and cohesion (water adhering to itself) is able to transport water from the roots to the leaves. Phloem, or the sugar-conduction system through sieve-tube elements which allow glucose made in the leaves to be transported to the roots.

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