Question

Does the growth pattern in plants differ from that in animals? Do all parts of plant grow indefinitely? If not, name the regions of plant, which can grow indefinitely.

Answer 1

Growth pattern in plants and animals:

Plants show localised growth where certain regions containing the meristematic cells keep on dividing. In animals, growth stops at a certain stage.

Meristems:

All the plant parts don't grow indefinitely. Plant parts that contain meristematic tissues can grow indefinitely. There are three types of meristem based on their location and function. They are as follows:-

Name	Location	Function
Apical meristem region	Regions on the root and shoot tips of the plant.	Gives rise to the primary plant body.
Intercalary meristem	Occurs in the nodes of the stem in monocot.	Elongation of internodes.
Lateral meristem	Parallely on either sides of the plant.	Increase in girth of the plant.

The meristematic tissues after differentiation get transformed into permanent tissues. These lose their capacity for division and get specialised to perform specific functions.

Regions that can grow indefinitely:

Root apical meristem (RAM) is present at the root apex.


Shoot apical meristem (SAM) is present in the shoot apex.