Home › ICAR JRF › Plant Sciences › Plant Form and Physiology › What are pneumatophores, found in some mangroves…
What are pneumatophores, found in some mangroves and cypress trees?
ADownward roots that store starch reserves
BUpward roots specialised for gas exchange
CUpward shoots that carry aerial flowers
DDownward shoots that anchor the trunk
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. Upward roots specialised for gas exchange
1. Swamp soils are unstable and little oxygen reaches the submerged roots.
2. Some mangrove species and cypress trees answer this with pneumatophores.
3. Pneumatophores are upward growing roots containing pores and pockets of tissue specialised for gas exchange.
4. So they are roots, not shoots, and they grow up rather than down.
5. Starch storage roots such as carrots and beets are a different modification entirely.
6. Wild rice solves the same oxygen problem differently, with large air spaces called aerenchyma in the root cortex.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 30 "Plant Form and Physiology", section 30.4 Leaves_
Related questions
Which defence compound of the cassava root becomes toxic only after a herbivore eats it?A tree exposed to constant strong wind shows which developmental response?Jasmonates elicit the synthesis of volatile compounds that attract which agents?In ripening fruit, ethylene stimulates which conversion?Low soil moisture raises the level of abscisic acid, which then does what?Gibberellins are described as a group of about how many closely related hormones?The effect of cytokinins was first reported after adding what to plant embryos in culture?Which is the only naturally occurring auxin that shows physiological activity?