The root is the organ of plants that usually goes into the soil to absorb nutrients and other substances.
From the Latin radix , the root is the organ belonging to plants that is introduced into the earth or into some different body to absorb the substances necessary for the plant to grow and develop. The root functions as a support and grows in the opposite direction to the stem .
For example: "I am worried: if that tree continues to grow, its roots will break the floor and enter the house" , "If you want to transplant a vegetable, you must take it from its root" , "The dog tore the root out of the bush" .
Parts of a root
We can say that every root of a plant is made up of a series of elements or parts of great importance since they are what allow it to fulfill the functions it must carry out. Thus, for example, one of its fundamental components is what is known as calyptra, which is defined as that conical area that is located next to the apex and whose clear objective is to carry out the protection of the meristematic cells when the phase of growth and development of the aforementioned root.
In the same way, we must refer to the rhizodermis, the epidermis of the root, which contributes to what is the best and greatest absorption of water and nutrients by the plant. And all this without forgetting the cortex, which can be defined as the region that must do is store reserve substances for the plant.
The endodermis or the vascular cylinder are two other fundamental elements of the main structure of any root, which also has a secondary structure that is made up of elements such as the periderm. This is what surrounds the so-called secondary body and acts as a substitute for the epidermis.
The concept in zoology
In the case of zoology, we also have to emphasize that the term root is also used.
In this case, it is used to define that part of the vertebrate teeth that is identified because it is fitted into the alveoli.
Root as the beginning of something
It is also known as a root to the beginning, beginning or reason of something and to the support or bottom of some object.
«Drug trafficking is the root of the insecurity problem that this country suffers», «This musical rhythm is part of our cultural roots» y «The building collapsed since it was poorly structured from the ground up» son expresiones que utilizan esta acepción.
The concept of root is used in mathematics.
The notion in mathematics and grammar
In mathematics , the root is the quantity that must be multiplied by itself, as many times as indicated, to obtain a certain result . The square root of X is the number that, multiplied once by itself (that is, squared ), allows us to obtain
The cube root of X , on the other hand, is the number that , when multiplied three times by itself, results in
For grammar , the root is the minimal grouping of phonemes shared by a word family. This set of phonemes cannot be reduced. An example of a grammatical root is fr in cold , friolento , friolero , etc.