Question

Economically important edible part of plant Ipomoea batatas is
A. Rhizome
B. Stem tuber
C. Underground fruit
D. Underground root tuber

Answer 1

The common name of Ipomoea batatas is sweet potatoes and are eaten as food in many countries like Peru, Japan, India, New Zealand, etc. The leaves of the plant are also used for medicinal purposes in many countries.

Complete step by step answer: Economically important edible part of the plant Ipomoea batatas is the underground root tuber. Underground root tuber or a tuberous root is a modified lateral root that functions as a storage organ and stores food and nutrients. These are very thickening roots. The upper root, the middle, or the end of the root can be enlarged to use as food storage. Sweet potato is an underground root tuber.
i. Rhizomes are modified plant stems that can allow the growth of the shoot or root and store starches and nutrients. Also called creeping root stalks, the rhizome develops from the axillary buds and grows horizontally. Rhizomes have short internodes, grow roots from the bottom of the plant and grow shoots from the nodes in the upward direction.
ii. Tubers are enlarged structures or the swelling of certain parts in various plants that are mainly used as storage of nutrients and food out of which stem tuber is formed from thickened rhizomes or stolons. These are mainly located near the soil surfaces and the stems are grown from the shoot developed from the upper side of the tuber. The new tubers grow adjacent or near to the parent tuber and have a new bud that grows new shoots in the spring. Yams, Cyclamen are the common stem tubers grown.
iii. Fruits that grow underground are called underground fruits. The only fruit that is grown underground is peanuts as it is classified as a fruit.
Hence, the correct answer is D.

Note: Plants like Dahlia and Cassava along with sweet potato are also underground root tubers. The root tubers do not possess any nodes or internodes or any reduced leaves and have one proximal end. The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the morning glory family.