Question

Are plants only able to photosynthesize through their leaves or can they photosynthesize through other parts of the plant?

Answer 1

Photosynthesis:

1. Plants are the only organisms on earth that have the ability to synthesise food using energy from the sun.
2. They have a specialised structure known as the chloroplast which possesses chlorophyll that helps in synthesizing carbohydrates.
3. The chlorophyll is the green-coloured pigment found mostly in the leaves and some other parts of some plants. The photosynthesis done by the green parts is less in comparison to leaves.
4. Most of the food which is prepared by the plant is synthesised in the leaves. The gaseous exchange takes place via the stomata and water is available.
5. The carbohydrate or glucose is used up and stored as starch(food) in the leaves. The oxygen is thus produced as a by-product which is evolved in the atmosphere.
6. Some plants like cactus contains green pigment in their stem as the leaves that are reduced to spines which helps them to perform photosynthesis.
7. Hence, we can say that a substantial amount of photosynthesis is performed by the leaves and several other parts which are green but contribute to a very less share of the same.