(Adventitious) Roots
by Kristiina U.
Adventitious roots are similar to the fibrous roots.
Her roots were somewhere else than mine. We were often asked what were the cultural collisions we had experienced in our romantic relationship. The truth is, there were none. I felt I could understand her better than women of my own culture. As the years went by, just by looking at her I knew what she would be thinking. It was easy to make her laugh due to this.
However, they can be underground or aerial (above the ground).
He is definitely the ground and the underground while I am the sky and above. But just like the moon and the sun, we complete each other quite beautifully while also being drawn closer by the curiosity to our differences. Did you know that according to a legend, the moon used to die every night so that the sun could breathe? I feel that’s how we are, the Lunar Women. We sacrifice ourselves to let others breathe more easily.
They can grow from any part of the plant except the radical.
While there is a saying in Spanish about us humans being only ‘media naranja’, half an orange looking for our other part, and another one in Chinese stating that we are one chopstick in a pair (一双筷子), I rather think we are drops of water looking to return in the ocean. We might be looking for soul mates, when in reality we have everything we need to grow ourselves. I read once that human beings are just complicated houseplants – and each day I find it to be truer.
These roots can be thick, thin, or modified according to the species.
He comes from a collective culture, I come from an individualistic one. But these traits are rather the opposite in our personalities. His roots are flexible and brought him far away from his origins. Mine only let me fly for brief sprints. And I know I will always come back to my roots. For him, this idea is thinner and might become even more so when proceeding on this journey of life.
Adventitious roots arise under stress conditions such as waterlogging after floods.
We all arise under stress conditions, don’t we? This is how our human species has managed to survive for so long. It seems unclear to me, whether we are becoming better or worse at adapting. I thought I am good at adapting. But recently I’ve become more aware of the differences between adaptation, tolerance and integration.
Adventitious roots can increase the survival chances of a plant as the plant propagates itself with the assistance of these roots.
I think eventually the world and its creatures are just one big garden. We wouldn’t survive without the others. We ourselves are our best friend and worst enemy. Just like bees and flowers, we should rather pollinate each other to make everyone glow instead of stomping the ones who are more vulnerable than us. But I am forever grateful that I get to admire the garden alongside the most beautiful rose.
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About the author
A forever wonderer of the joys and sorrows of the Milky Way and the Planet Earth. Reader and writer since 1998. The best book is the one that makes you feel big emotions or moves something inside you. Last time laughing and crying while reading: yesterday.