Stem vs. Root
Main DifferenceThe main difference between Stem and Root is that Stem is the part of the plant body that is present above the soil, while the Root is the part of the plant body that is present below the ground.
Difference Between Stem and Root
Stem vs. Root
The Stem is the part of the plant that is usually found above the soil, while Root is the part of a plant that is always found under the ground.
Stem vs. Root
Stems contain chlorophyll, whereas Roots are devoid of chlorophyll.
Stem vs. Root
Stems have leaves, nodes, and internodes, but Roots only have some multicellular hairs on them.
Stem vs. Root
Stems have a large diameter. On the other hand, Roots have a small diameter.
Stem vs. Root
Stem originates from plumule, while Root originates from the radicle part of the embryo.
Stem vs. Root
Buds are present on the Stem, but not on Roots.
Stem vs. Root
Stems grow towards the direction of light on the flip side Roots grow away from the direction of light.
Stemnoun
The stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors.
Rootnoun
The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
This tree's roots can go as deep as twenty metres underground.Stemnoun
A branch of a family.
Rootnoun
A root vegetable.
Stemnoun
An advanced or leading position; the lookout.
Rootnoun
The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place.
Root damage is a common problem of overbrushing.Stemnoun
(botany) The above-ground stalk (technically axis) of a vascular plant, and certain anatomically similar, below-ground organs such as rhizomes, bulbs, tubers, and corms.
Rootnoun
The part of a hair under the skin that holds the hair in place.
The root is the only part of the hair that is alive.Stemnoun
A slender supporting member of an individual part of a plant such as a flower or a leaf; also, by analogy, the shaft of a feather.
the stem of an apple or a cherryRootnoun
The part of a hair near the skin that has not been dyed, permed, or otherwise treated.
He dyed his hair black last month, so the grey roots can be seen.Stemnoun
A narrow part on certain man-made objects, such as a wine glass, a tobacco pipe, a spoon.
Rootnoun
The primary source; origin.
The love of money is the root of all evil.Stemnoun
(linguistics) The main part of an uninflected word to which affixes may be added to form inflections of the word. A stem often has a more fundamental root. Systematic conjugations and declensions derive from their stems.
Rootnoun
(arithmetic) Of a number or expression, a number which, when raised to a specified power, yields the specified number or expression.
The cube root of 27 is 3.Stemnoun
(slang) A person's leg.
Rootnoun
(arithmetic) A square root (understood if no power is specified; in which case, “the root of” is often abbreviated to “root”).
Multiply by root 2.Stemnoun
(slang) The penis.
Rootnoun
(analysis) A zero (of an equation).
Stemnoun
(typography) A vertical stroke of a letter.
Rootnoun
The single node of a tree that has no parent.
Stemnoun
(music) A vertical stroke marking the length of a note in written music.
Rootnoun
(linguistic morphology) The primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. Inflectional stems often derive from roots.
Stemnoun
(nautical) The vertical or nearly vertical forward extension of the keel, to which the forward ends of the planks or strakes are attached.
Rootnoun
(philology) A word from which another word or words are derived.
Stemnoun
Component on a bicycle that connects the handlebars to the bicycle fork
Rootnoun
(music) The fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed.
Stemnoun
(anatomy) A part of an anatomic structure considered without its possible branches or ramifications.
Rootnoun
The lowest place, position, or part.
Stemnoun
(slang) A crack pipe; or the long, hollow portion of a similar pipe (i.e. meth pipe) resembling a crack pipe.
Rootnoun
(computing) In UNIX terminology, the first user account with complete access to the operating system and its configuration, found at the root of the directory structure; the person who manages accounts on a UNIX system.
I have to log in as root before I do that.Stemnoun
(chiefly British) A winder on a clock, watch, or similar mechanism
Rootnoun
(computing) The highest directory of a directory structure which may contain both files and subdirectories.
I installed the files in the root directory.Stemnoun
alternative form of STEM
Rootnoun
(slang) A penis, especially the base of a penis.
Stemverb
To remove the stem from.
to stem cherries; to stem tobacco leavesRootnoun
An act of sexual intercourse.
Fancy a root?Stemverb
To be caused or derived; to originate.
The current crisis stems from the short-sighted politics of the previous government.Rootnoun
A sexual partner.
Stemverb
To descend in a family line.
Rootverb
To fix the root; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow.
Stemverb
To direct the stem (of a ship) against; to make headway against.
Rootverb
To be firmly fixed; to be established.
Stemverb
(obsolete) To hit with the stem of a ship; to ram.
Rootverb
To break into a computer system and obtain root access.
We rooted his box and planted a virus on it.Stemverb
To ram (clay, etc.) into a blasting hole.
Rootverb
(ambitransitive) To turn up or dig with the snout.
A pig roots the earth for truffles.Stemverb
(transitive) To stop, hinder (for instance, a river or blood).
to stem a tideRootverb
(by extension) To seek favour or advancement by low arts or grovelling servility; to fawn.
Stemverb
(skiing) To move the feet apart and point the tips of the skis inward in order to slow down the speed or to facilitate a turn.
Rootverb
(intransitive) To rummage; to search as if by digging in soil.
rooting about in a junk-filled drawerStemnoun
(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed;
thematic vowels are part of the stemRootverb
(transitive) To root out; to abolish.
Stemnoun
a slender or elongated structure that supports a plant or fungus or a plant part or plant organ
Rootverb
To have sexual intercourse.
Stemnoun
cylinder forming a long narrow part of something
Rootverb
To grow roots
The cuttings are starting to root.Stemnoun
the tube of a tobacco pipe
Rootverb
To prepare, oversee, or otherwise cause the rooting of cuttings
We rooted some cuttings last summer.Stemnoun
front part of a vessel or aircraft;
he pointed the bow of the boat toward the finish lineRootverb
To cheer (on); to show support (for) and hope for the success of. See root for.
I'm rooting for you, don't let me down!Stemnoun
a turn made in skiing; the back of one ski is forced outward and the other ski is brought parallel to it
Rootnoun
(botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground
Stemverb
grow out of, have roots in, originate in;
The increase in the national debt stems from the last warRootnoun
(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed;
thematic vowels are part of the stemStemverb
cause to point inward;
stem your skisRootnoun
the place where something begins, where it springs into being;
the Italian beginning of the RenaissanceJupiter was the origin of the radiationPittsburgh is the source of the Ohio Rivercommunism's Russian rootStemverb
stop the flow of a liquid;
staunch the blood flowthem the tideRootnoun
a number that when multiplied by itself some number of times equals a given number
Stemverb
remove the stem from;
for automatic natural language processing, the words must be stemmedRootnoun
the set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation
Rootnoun
someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
Rootnoun
a simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes
Rootnoun
the part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves as support
Rootverb
take root and begin to grow;
this plant roots quicklyRootverb
come into existence, originate;
The problem roots in her depressionRootverb
plant by the roots
Rootverb
dig with the snout;
the pig was rooting for trufflesRootverb
take sides with; align oneself with; show strong sympathy for;
We all rooted for the home teamI'm pulling for the underdogAre you siding with the defender of the title?Rootverb
become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style;
He finally settled downRootverb
cause to take roots
Comparison Chart
| Stem | Root |
| It grows above the soil. | It grows below the soil. |
| Origination | |
| It arises from the plumule part of the embryo. | It arises from the radicle part of the embryo. |
| Chlorophyll | |
| It contains chlorophyll. | It does not contain chlorophyll. |
| Phototropism | |
| It usually tends to grow upward in the direction of light. | It usually tends to grow away from the direction of light. |
| Diameter | |
| It has a large diameter. | It has a small diameter. |
| Outgrowths | |
| It bears leaves, nodes, and internodes. | It does not bear leaves, nodes, and internodes. |
| Buds | |
| Terminal and Axillary buds are present in Stems. | Terminal and Axillary bud is absent in Roots. |
Stem vs. Root
Stem lies above the ground level. Roots lie underground. The shoot is the portion of Stem which bears leaves, whereas roots don’t bear leaves. The Stem is also known as the central bone or basic structure of the plant body. The Root is known as the heart of the plant, which supplies it with water minerals and nutrients.
The Stem takes water and other minerals from the roots and delivers it to all the parts of the plant. Roots anchor the plant; they spread themselves in the soil to absorb water and minerals and transfer them to the Stem, leaves, and other parts of the plant through vascular bundles.
During the process of seed germination, the Stem arises from the plumule, while the roots originate from radicals. A stem may be present under the ground, but a root can’t lie above the soil surface.
What is Stem?
The Stem is the central portion of the primary axis of the plant, which develops from the plumule. The leaf-bearing Stem is known as shoot. A branch is also a shoot. The part of the Stem from which a leaf arises is called a Node. The portion between two successive nodes is termed as Internode.
Stems can be Annuals (one growing season), Biennials (two growing seasons), and Perennials (for several years). Stems may be aerial such as climbers or trailers. Underground stems like rhizome superficially look like Root, but they can be recognized by distinguishing features.
Layers of Stem
- Epidermis: The outer part of the Stem that provides stability and acts as a shield from wind and rain.
- Phloem: It is transport tubes of the plants, moves stable molecules from one part of the plant to another section.
- Xylem: It is like phloem, but instead of transporting foods, it carries water and dissolved minerals from roots.
What is Root?
The Root is the cylindrical plant organ, which arises from the radicle. It does not bear leaves or nodes. It is covered at its tip by the root cap. The Root contains hairs that aids in the absorption of water and minerals from the soil. Their main functions are to anchor the plant, store food, provide shelter to nitrogen-fixing bacteria, provide extra support to the plant, for which the roots undergo various types of modifications.
Roots bend in the direction of temperature that is most favorable for growth and tends to grow in the course of moisture supply. When a seed germinates, the embryonic root (radicle) gradually elongate and form the Primary Root.
Layers of Root
- Epidermis: It is only one-celled thick. This phenomenon increases in some plants due to the presence of root hairs, which are small extensions of the skin.
- Endodermis: It is a tightly packed layer act as transport balance between cortex and vascular cylinder.
- Vascular Cylinder: It is inside of endodermis and pericycle surrounds it. The pericycle is a layer of cells that initiates the growth of branch roots. Xylem and phloem cells are present that transport water and food.
ConclusionThe stem is the part of a plant that arises from plumule and grows in the direction of light above the soil. The root is the part of a plant that occurs from radical and grows away from the direction of light under the ground.
