Question

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

Answer 1

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants synthesise their own food in the form of carbohydrates. They have a special pigment called chlorophyll which absorbs the solar energy and converts it into chemical energy. The other substrates required are water and carbon dioxide.

Complete answer:
Plants are the only organisms on earth that can synthesise food using solar energy from the son. They have a specialised structure called the chloroplast which contains chlorophyll which helps in synthesising carbohydrates. The chlorophyll is the green colour pigment present mostly in the leaves and also present in other parts of some plants. The photosynthesis done by the green parts is less as compared to that of leaves.

Most of the food that is prepared by the plant is synthesised in the leaves. The exchange of gases takes place through the stomata and water is available. The carbohydrate or glucose is synthesised which is used up and stored as starch in the leaves. The oxygen is also produced as a by-product which is evolved in the atmosphere.

Some plants like cactus have green pigment in their stem as the leaves are reduced to spines which helps them to perform photosynthesis.
So, we can conclude that the substantial amount of photosynthesis is performed by the leaves and the other parts which are green contribute to a very less share of the same.

Note: There are other non-green plants which can also perform photosynthesis by the help of other photosynthetic pigment called phycobilin and phycoerythrin. These pigments are present in cyanobacteria. They prepare their food by using these pigments.