Monopodial
Encyclopedia
Vascular plant
s with monopodial growth habits grow upward from a single point. They add leaves to the apex each year and the stem grows longer accordingly. The word Monopodial is derived from Greek "mono-", one and "podial", "foot", in reference to the fact that monopodial plants have a single trunk or stem.
Orchids
with monopodial growth often produce copious aerial roots that often hang down in long drapes and have green chlorophyll
underneath the grey root
coverings, which are used as additional photosynthetic organs. They do not have a rhizome
or pseudobulb
s so species adapted to dry periods have fleshy succulent leaves instead. Flowers generally come from the stem between the leaves. With some monopodial species, the stem (the rhizome
) might fork into two, but for all monopodial orchids this is not necessary for continued growth, as opposed to orchids with sympodial
growth.
Vascular plant
Vascular plants are those plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. Vascular plants include the clubmosses, Equisetum, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms...
s with monopodial growth habits grow upward from a single point. They add leaves to the apex each year and the stem grows longer accordingly. The word Monopodial is derived from Greek "mono-", one and "podial", "foot", in reference to the fact that monopodial plants have a single trunk or stem.
Orchids
Orchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
with monopodial growth often produce copious aerial roots that often hang down in long drapes and have green chlorophyll
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...
underneath the grey root
Root
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
coverings, which are used as additional photosynthetic organs. They do not have a rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
or pseudobulb
Pseudobulb
The pseudobulb is a storage organ derived from the part of a stem between two leaf nodes.It applies to the orchid family , specifically certain groups of epiphytic orchids, and may be single or composed of several internodes with evergreen or deciduous leaves along its length.In some species, it is...
s so species adapted to dry periods have fleshy succulent leaves instead. Flowers generally come from the stem between the leaves. With some monopodial species, the stem (the rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
) might fork into two, but for all monopodial orchids this is not necessary for continued growth, as opposed to orchids with sympodial
Sympodial
Sympodial means "with conjoined feet", and in biology is often used to refer to the outward morphology or mode of growth of organisms.-In botany:...
growth.