Root morphophysiology changes during the habitat transition from soil to canopy of the aroid vine Rhodospatha oblongata

Aerial roots elevate indoor plant health: Physiological and morphological responses of three high-humidity adapted Araceae species to indoor humidity levels

Heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a global increase in urban greenspace appreciation. Indoor plants are equally important for improving mental health and air quality but despite evolving in humid (sub)tropical environments with aerial root types, planting systems ignore aerial resource supply. This study directly compared nutrient uptake preferences of aerial and soil-formed roots of three common houseplant species under high and ambient relative humidities. Growth and physiology parameters were measured weekly for Anthurium andreanum, Epipremnum aureum and Philodendron scandens grown in custom made growth chambers. Both aerial and soil-formed roots were then fed mixtures of nitrate, ammonium and glycine, with one source labelled with ¹⁵ N to determine uptake rates and maximum capacities. Aerial roots were consistently better at nitrogen uptake than soil roots but no species, root type or humidity condition showed a preference for a particular nitrogen source. All three species grew more in high humidity, with aerial roots demonstrating the greatest biomass increase. Higher humidities for indoor niches, together with fertiliser applications to aerial roots will support indoor plant growth, creating lush calming indoor environments for people inhabitants.

Maize plants and the brace roots that support them

Brace roots are a unique but poorly understood set of organs found in some large cereal crops such as maize. These roots develop from aerial stem nodes and can remain aerial or grow into the ground. Despite their name, the function of these roots to brace the plant was only recently shown. In this article, I discuss the current understanding of brace root function and development, as well as the multitude of open questions that remain about these fascinating organs.