All living matter depends more or less on liquids of various sorts, and the plant, like the animal, has its circulating fluids, bearing nourishment and removing waste, storing food, and supplying oxygen to convert that food into living energy.
From the delicious juices that flavor the peach and sweeten in the heart of the sugar cane, to the bitter milk that flows in the dandelion or lures the unwary to death in the poisonous mushroom, all consist largely of water, absorbed from the soil by the action of the roots.This absorbed water is of threefold value to the plant.
It supplies a very necessary portion of the plant's food, as water itself and as mineral matter dissolved in that water; it acts as a means of transfer within the plant for the various foods needed in the different parts, much like the blood of animals; and this absorbed water supports many parts of the plant. This latter statement will need some explanation.
Post a Comment