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Review
. 2023 Jan;237(1):48-52.
doi: 10.1111/nph.18489. Epub 2022 Sep 30.

Maize plants and the brace roots that support them

Erin E Sparks  1
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Maize plants and the brace roots that support them

Erin E Sparks. New Phytol. 2023 Jan.
Free article

Abstract

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.

Keywords: adventitious; biomechanics; development; lodging; nodal; roots.

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References

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