NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 2 Activity 2.7: Let us relate and analyse — — Table 2.4, venation and roots together (2026-27)

Q1.

Before planting them, observe their roots and the venation in their leaves. Record your observations in Table 2.4.

Answer

Collect saplings from the school nursery, wash the soil off the roots gently, and fill Table 2.4 like this.

S. no.	Name of the plant	Type of leaf venation (reticulate / parallel)	Type of root (fibrous / tap)
1.	Lemongrass	Parallel	Fibrous
2.	Marigold (genda)	Reticulate	Tap
3.	Sadabahar (periwinkle)	Reticulate	Tap
4.	Tulsi	Reticulate	Tap
5.	Maize seedling	Parallel	Fibrous

Care while doing it: observe the roots before planting, keep them moist, and plant the saplings in the school garden immediately afterwards. The activity should end with five living plants, not five dead ones.

Read the last two columns together: wherever the third column says "Parallel", the fourth says "Fibrous"; wherever it says "Reticulate", the fourth says "Tap". The table has no exception — that repetition is the discovery.

Q2.

Do you observe any relation between the leaf venation and types of root in these plants? Do other plants with reticulate venation have taproots too? Do other plants with parallel venation have fibrous roots too?

Answer

Yes. The two features always go together, and the rule holds for other plants as well.

Reticulate venation → Taproot
Parallel venation → Fibrous roots

The evidence from the book:

Sadabahar has a taproot and reticulate venation.
Lemongrass has fibrous roots and parallel venation.
Chickpea (chana) — another plant with taproots and reticulate venation.
Wheat — fibrous roots and parallel venation.
Add your own: mango, neem, mustard, marigold, tulsi all show reticulate + taproot; grass, maize, sugarcane, banana, onion all show parallel + fibrous.

So the general statement is: generally, plants with reticulate venation have taproots, while those with parallel venation have fibrous roots.

Why should a leaf tell us about the root? Because both are decided by the same thing — the plant's seed type. A seed with two cotyledons (a dicot) grows into a plant with reticulate leaves and a taproot; a seed with one cotyledon (a monocot) grows into a plant with parallel-veined leaves and fibrous roots. Activity 2.8 shows this directly.

Tip: Notice the word generally. A few plants are exceptions, so a good scientific statement says "generally" instead of "always" when the evidence supports a strong trend rather than a law without exception.