In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial (growing above the ground) or aerating (growing up above the ground or especially above water). Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either (see rhizome).

So, it is better to define root as a part of a plant body that bears no leaves, and therefore also lacks nodes. There are also important internal structural differences between stems and roots. The first root that comes from a plant is called the radicle.

The two major functions of roots are 1) absorption of water and inorganic nutrients and 2) anchoring of the plant body to the ground. In response to the concentration of nutrients, roots also synthesise cytokinin, which acts as a signal as to how fast the shoots can grow. Roots often function in storage of food and nutrients. The roots of most vascular plant species enter into symbiosis with certain fungi to form mycorrhizas, and a large range of other organisms including bacteria also closely associate with roots.

Bennett: I haven't gotten a lot of gaming in these past few weeks, but I did enjoy a few hours of Plants vs. Zombies. I'm also messing around with a PC game called Brass Restoration, which was originally released in Japanese and translated by fans. I have a feeling I'm going to end up having sex with my female classmate in the game if I keep clicking the right answers. Persona trained me well!

Zimmerman: Lots and lots of Borderlands this week. I also played my usual dose of Rock Band 2 and spent a little time with The Ballad of Gay Tony, which I should have a review of early this week.

Devore: I foolishly couldn't help myself. I got to level 50 in Borderlands even though I'm probably going to be screwed when the DLC hits. If it's anything like the add-on stuff for Fallout 3, much of the enjoyment will be from having a new way to get experience rather than the story itself -- I pray this isn't the case for Borderlands.

I also got Prince of Persia for $10, which makes me glad I didn't buy it at launch. Even though I tend to love collectathons, this game is too ridiculous even for my standards. It wouldn't be such a pain if the game was more interactive than a DVD menu in terms of platforming, but that really isn't the case. At least it's pretty, and the boss fights are sort of fun.

Chester: It's been a weird few weeks of gaming leading up to the holidays, especially with me playing stuff not for review, but for Spike VGA judging and what not. So I'll just list off things I've spent some time with this week, with little to no commentary, since I'm losing track of what I can and can't talk about: Need for Speed: Nitro (Wii); Borderlands (360) with the wife; Dragon Age (PC); LEGO Rock Band (360); DJ Hero (360); Tekken 6 (360); God of War III demo (PS3 OMG); Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time (PS3); and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting/really can't mention.