adventitious root
- noun
- /ædˈvɛnˌtɪʃəs ruːt/
- Specialized
:
raíz adventicia
- These adventitious roots grow out from the stem while the plant is still growing and produce prop roots.
Examples
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Adventitious root formation (Fattorini et al. 2009) and inhibition of root elongation are examples of jasmonate-promoted processes (Staswick et al. 1992).
Academic text (2015) -
Tomatoes develop adventitious roots—roots that originate from the buried stem.
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Aerial roots are almost always adventitious roots that can grow from branches, especially where they have been wounded.
How Typical
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'adventitious' (occurring in an unusual place or unexpectedly) modifies 'root', so a learner who knows both words can infer 'a root that appears in an unusual place (e.g., stem or leaf)'. The adjective–noun pattern is regular and maps closely to the botanical definition, so the overall meaning is predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Adventitious root comes from the image of an unexpected root growing from a stem or leaf instead of from the plant's main roots. The word adventitious means 'coming from elsewhere', so the phrase means 'a root that grows from an unusual part of a plant'.