Question
Question: The sugarcane plant has A. Reticulate venation B. Capsular fruits C. Pentamerous flowers D. ...
The sugarcane plant has
A. Reticulate venation
B. Capsular fruits
C. Pentamerous flowers
D. Dumb-bell shaped guard cells
Solution
Sugarcane is a type of perennial grass that belongs to the family of Poaceae. It is primarily cultivated for its juice from which sugar is produced. It is mainly cultivated and grown in subtropical and tropical areas. The plant is also grown for the purpose of biofuel production.
Complete answer:
Sugarcane refers to several species which are hybrids of tall perennial grass. Sugarcane plant belongs to the genus of Saccharum. The sugarcane plant releases a juice which is used for the production of sugar. Generally, a plant of sugarcane is two to six meters or six to twenty feet long with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks. The juice of the sugarcane is rich in sucrose, which is stored in the stalk internodes of the plant. Sugarcanes belong to the grass family Poaceae. It has high economic importance. This is mainly cultivated in the warm temperate to tropical regions of India, Southeast Asia, and New Guinea.
Sugarcane is a monocot plant. But these plants also possess guard cells which are more efficient physiologically. Guard cells are the semilunar cells that enclosed the stomata and responsible for the opening and closing of the stomata during transpiration. The chloroplast present in the guard cells mainly regulates the opening and closing of the stomata.
There are two types of guard cells. One is a kidney-shaped guard cell which is mainly found in dicot plants. And another type is dumb-bell shaped guard cells and this type of guard cell is found in the monocots and grasses. As the sugarcane is a monocot plant, like the other monocot plants such as maize, it bears dumb-bell shaped guard cells.
The dumb-bell shaped guard cells are more efficient physiologically because these cells require few solutes and less water for the purpose of a desirable increase in the stomata apparatus.
Reticulate venation, capsular fruits, pentamerous flowers all are the characteristics of the dicot plants.
Hence, the correct answer is option (D).
Note: Sugarcane is monocot plants which are hybrids of tall perennial grass. The juice extracted from the sugarcane plant is used for the production of sugar. This plant is also used in biofuel production. Generally, there are two types of stomata found; kidney-shaped guard cell is found in dicot plants and dumb-bell shaped guard cells are found in the monocots and grasses. Like another monocot, sugarcane also possesses the dumb-bell shaped guard cells.