What is the root of the plant

The first root that comes from a plant is called the radicle. A root's four major functions are:

absorption of water and inorganic nutrients;

anchoring of the plant body to the ground, and supporting it;

storage of food and nutrients;

vegetative reproduction and competition with other plants.

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 mycorrhizae, and a large range of other organisms including bacteria also closely associate with roots.[citation neede

allowed for the prediction of the properties of missing elements.