Question

Pneumatophores are found in
A. The vegetation which is found in marshy and saline lake
B. The vegetation found in saline soil
C. Xerophytes
D. Epiphytes

Answer 1

Hint: Many species are distinguished by the respiratory or knee roots known as pneumatophores; they project above the mud and have narrow openings (lenticels) through which air enters, passing to the roots beneath the mud through the soft spongy tissue.

Complete answer:
Among vascular plants, a variety of other specialized roots exist. The roots of some parasitic plants are extensively transformed into haustoria, which is inserted into the host plant's vascular system to feed the parasite. Many pea family members (Fabaceae) harbor symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their nodular roots, and many plant roots also form intricate associations with mycorrhizal soil fungi; a number of non-photosynthetic mycoheterotrophic plants depend solely on these fungi for nutrition, such as Indian pipe.
In the vegetation that is present in marshy and saline lakes, pneumatophores are found. These advanced aerial roots in a region of waterlogged soil allow plants to breathe air. Lenticels present on the surface of these roots help to absorb air into spongy tissue, distributing oxygen as required across the plant in turn. It is a type of root that grows to take oxygen from the air that is negatively geotropic. They are pencil-like roots, like snorkels, sticking up from the dense, wet layer.

Hence, the correct answer is (A).

Note:
In saline mudflats, some lateral roots of mangroves are specialized as pneumatophores; pneumatophores are lateral roots that develop upward for varying distances and act as the oxygen intake site for the primary root system submerged. The plants mentioned above are just a few examples of angiosperm root diversity, a condition that is unprecedented in any other group of vascular plants.