Plants, plants are the life and soil of the earth and are an integral part of any other living species life cycle. Plants provide oxygen, shelter and provide a pleasant and calming affect to an area. However some plants can be undesirable in an environment or a plant may just die. This article is intended to discuss some of the reasons why plants may die and possible ways to rid unwanted plants from an environment.
Plant anatomy is quite simple; they consist of roots, stems and leaves. These make up a plants anatomy. The roots draw water and nutrients in from the soil and the leaves are where photosynthesis occurs. This process is vital in the plants ability to survive and can be a major contribution to the death of a plant. The stems provide the vital role of carrying water, as well as other nutrients, from the roots to the leaves. These are carried to the leaves by the xylem and the phloem and which carries food made by the leaves to the rest of the plant.
See Diagram 1.
A plant will die if the shoot and the root systems are separated at ground level. When this occurs the plant is unable to get the water it requires for photosynthesis and the nutrients from the soil. .
Throughout plants, at the tips of stems and roots, exist cells. The continually producing cells, called meristem. In the case of breakage of the plant at the base of the stem, the root system is separated from the shoot (leaf and stems) system of a large amounts of damage is sustained to the root system. During a transplant, the primary meristem could be destroyed and the plant will not be able to continue in growth.
The apical and auxiliary buds can be seen in diagram 2. These sections of the plants are like the stem cells of the animal kingdom however continue to exist in plants. They perform the function of growth for the plants.
In dicot plants there is a third kind of meristem. Lateral meristem exists in dicot plants and it allows the plant to develop wood and expand during its lifetime (Diagram 3a).