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The air filled tissue in the root cortex of wild rice serves what purpose?
AIt provides a path for oxygen to reach root tips
BIt provides a store of sugars for the root tips
CIt provides buoyancy that lifts the leaves clear
DIt provides a barrier that excludes soil bacteria
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. It provides a path for oxygen to reach root tips
1. Wild rice is an aquatic plant with large air spaces in the root cortex.
2. That air filled tissue is called aerenchyma.
3. It provides a path for oxygen to diffuse down to the root tips.
4. Those root tips are embedded in oxygen poor bottom sediments, which is why the path is needed.
5. Buoyancy of leaves is a separate adaptation of aquatic plants whose intercellular spaces help the leaf float.
6. Sugar storage and bacterial exclusion are not the roles given to this tissue.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 30 "Plant Form and Physiology", section 30.4 Leaves_
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