Question

What are the morphological differences between dark and light-grown plants? Explain how etiolation helps a seedling compete successfully.

Short answer

Darkly grown plants are characterized by long stems, undeveloped roots, unusual leaves, and chlorophyll-deficient shoots compared to lightly grown plants.

A plant increases the possibility that the shoot will reach the sunlight before its stored nutrients run out by focusing more energy on stem elongation and less on leaf and root growth.

Step-by-step solution

Photosynthetic plants

Plants can undertake photosynthesis, a process in which green plants use sunlight and a pigment called chlorophyll to generate their food. Chlorophyll is a green pigment. Plants employ sunlight to convert inorganic materials into carbohydrates.

De-Etiolation

Plants undergo de-etiolation when their etioplasts or plastids are converted into chloroplasts within their cells. Etiolated plants are long, slender, and white because they have grown in complete darkness. The process of de-etiolation is triggered by light.

Etiolation

Lack of light is the most common cause of etiolation in succulents.The plant deformed itself to survive and reach an area with more light. A less prevalent reason is nutrient insufficiency. Plants with etiolated leaves flourish in low-light environments. As a result, the stems get weaker and longer.

Plants that emerge in gloomy conditions would experience underground benefit from etiolated growth. Plants increase their chances of reaching the sunlight before their stored nutrients exhaust themselves.