The Plant Diaries

The IB biology class has got a very interesting activity to do over the course of two years. Mr. Collins has asked us all to select a plant/tree and study and monitor it.
I have selected a plant located in the lawns of the middle school. 

I haven't found out the name of the plant as yet but i will soon from the gardener of the school.
Below are pictures of the plant: 

Picture of the entire plant

 

 The various parts of the plant- the stem, the leaf and the roots- are clear in the following pictures:

Close-up pic of the stem

The leaves

The roots of the plant

 There are a number of plants on campus. What attracted me to this particular plant is  the

 overall look of the plant.

On observing the plant closely for sometime, i noticed aerial roots on the stem. Aerating roots are also there which come up above the ground. These help in better oxygen flow in waterlogged areas as they have lenticels covering their surface.

I also noticed offshoots/buds on the stem of the plant. Buds refer to outgrowths from the body of the parent plant. It is a kind of asexual reproduction in which a new plant grows on another one.



Pic showing aerial root and offshoot





















I also noticed that in the lower part of the stem, the branches and leaves are quite bigger than the ones coming out in the upper part of the stem.
Below is a picture showing this:

Mr. Collins has also suggested that i take an offshoot off the stem of the plant and keep it in water and observe it's growth. So, i took out one and kept it in a beaker with water.

And we will see what happens..........