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botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
, the radicle is the first part of a
seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...
(a growing plant embryo) to emerge from the
seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...
during the process of germination. The radicle is the embryonic
root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...
of the plant, and grows downward in the soil (the shoot emerges from the plumule). Above the radicle is the embryonic stem or hypocotyl, supporting the cotyledon(s). It is the embryonic root inside the seed. It is the first thing to emerge from a seed and down into the ground to allow the seed to suck up water and send out its leaves so that it can start photosynthesizing. The radicle emerges from a seed through the micropyle. Radicles in seedlings are classified into two main types. Those pointing away from the seed coat scar or hilum are classified as ''antitropous'', and those pointing towards the hilum are ''syntropous''. If the radicle begins to decay, the seedling undergoes pre-emergence
damping off Damping off (or damping-off) is a horticultural disease or condition, caused by several different pathogens that kill or weaken seeds or seedlings before or after they germinate. It is most prevalent in wet and cool conditions. Symptoms There ar ...
. This disease appears on the radicle as darkened spots. Eventually, it causes death of the seedling. The plumule is the baby shoot. It grows after the radicle. In 1880,
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
published a book about plants he had studied, The Power of Movement in Plants, where he mentions the radicle.


See also

* Plant perception (physiology)


References

{{reflist Plant anatomy Plant morphology Plant intelligence