Soil & nature cycles · Absorption and anchorage
What do roots do?
Puschel’s little plant has a hidden team of helpers.
The short answer
Roots anchor many plants and take up water and dissolved nutrients. Some also store reserves. An important hidden part supplies what you see above ground.
An imagined Wusel scene
Puschel and Flauschi investigate
Puschel looks at a tiny seedling. Puschel“Not much happening up here.” Flauschi points to the soil. Flauschi“A lot may already be growing underneath.”
With an adult’s help they gently water their familiar garden seedling. They do not pull a woodland plant out. Puschel wants its roots to stay healthy.
Puschel“My invisible helpers get a thank-you,” he says. Flauschi smiles. The seedling stands still, but today has explained a lot.
Little Wusel quiz
Why is uprooting a plant a poor way to study roots?
Show answer
It can damage fine roots. Use an explanation or a suitable garden activity with an adult instead.
Word help
- carbon dioxide
- A gas in air. Green plants use it with water and light to make sugar. People and animals breathe it out.
- nutrient
- A substance a living thing needs to grow and live.
- mineral
- Here, a mineral nutrient such as potassium. Plants usually absorb these nutrients dissolved in water; they are not ready-made sugar.
Explore in more detail
Here you will find longer explanations and further details. You can explore them together.
Understand step by step
How it works – simply explained
The plant gains support
Roots branch through soil and anchor the plant. A visible stem does not reveal their whole spread.
Water is absorbed
Fine roots and root hairs increase contact area, taking up water and dissolved minerals. Minerals are not ready-made plant food.
Leaves use light
Green plants use light, water and carbon dioxide to make energy-rich substances. Roots help supply them but cannot replace light. Do not dig up roots to observe.
The key points again
Discover
Roots anchor many plants and absorb water and dissolved mineral nutrients.
Understand
Fine roots and root hairs increase the absorbing surface and can be damaged easily.
Connections
Roots do not replace light. Green plants use light to make sugars from water and carbon dioxide.