Biology · Morphology of Flowering Plants · NEET
The root system is the underground part of the plant. The shoot system is the part above the ground. NCERT states this directly: 'The underground part of the flowering plant is the root system while the portion above the ground forms the shoot system.' This is the simplest way to split any flowering plant for NEET.
The shoot system is made of the stem, leaves, flowers and fruits. So the stem and everything it carries above the soil belong to the shoot system. NEET often tests this: the flower is a modified shoot, so it is part of the shoot system, not the root system.
The flower is part of the shoot system. NCERT calls the flower 'a modified shoot' meant for sexual reproduction. Because the shoot system is differentiated into stem, leaves, flowers and fruits, the flower and the later fruit both belong to the shoot system.
The root system includes the primary root and its branches (in tap root), or many fibrous roots, or adventitious roots. Its four main functions in NCERT are: absorbing water and minerals from soil, anchoring the plant, storing reserve food, and making plant growth regulators (hormones).
They are still part of the root system, but they arise from the stem, not from the radicle. In monocots like wheat, the primary root dies early and many roots grow from the base of the stem to form the fibrous root system. This exact idea was asked in NEET 2020.
The roots that originate from the base of the stem are:
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
Yes. NCERT says angiosperms, in spite of huge diversity, are all characterised by roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits. If you pull out any weed, it has roots, a stem and leaves — so it has both systems.
Yes. The shoot system is differentiated into stem, leaves, flowers and fruits. The fruit forms from the ovary after fertilisation, so it stays part of the shoot system.
Four functions from NCERT: absorption of water and minerals, anchorage (holding the plant firmly), storage of reserve food, and synthesis of plant growth regulators.
Yes. Adventitious roots (as in grass, Monstera, banyan) arise from parts other than the radicle, but they are still roots, so they belong to the root system.
