In what ways does a plant uses water?

[Anandi]

Water is a raw material for photosynthesis. It provides the hydrogen necessary for the reduction of carbon dioxide into simple carbon hydrates.

Water provides turgidity to plant cells. Many Plants soft stem are able to remain firm due to the turgidity provided by the intake of water. When a plant losses water it loses its turgidity and wilts.


Water is the most important solvent in living organism as a medium for translocation of manufactured food through the phloem in solution. It is solvent   for mineral and nutrients

All biochemical reactions take place in water e.g. hydrolysis catalyzed by enzymes

Essential constituent of protoplasm

It is needed for transpiration to cool down the plant in hot water weather. Also the suction force created by transpiration pulls water up a plant

[jesskorollison]

Plants can make virtually everything they need from water and air with a few nutrients that the roots absorb from the soil. The plant uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. It discards the oxygen as a waste product. The plant uses the hydrogen to make sugar from carbon dioxide in the air. Both plants and people use oxygen in the air to burn sugar and make energy to live. The sole purpose of the leaves is to harvest light and make sugar. Take a moment to consider the structure of a leaf. It is wide and flat, which it can catch a lot of light but the large surface area means water loss is a problem. It has a waxy cuticle to reduce water loss. The leaves get water from the roots. Air enters the leaves through small holes in the leaves called stomates. When the stomates are open they let air in but they also lose water through evaporation. This is an important point to remember because if those stomates close to conserve water, photosynthesis and sugar production stops. It does not matter how much sunlight you have, if the plants are drought stressed growth stops! That's why they irrigate in a desert. Water is the single most limiting factor in plant growth.

[John Trivolta]

Plants take in water from the soil for numerous reasons.
Transpiration is the process where by water vapor is evaporated into the atmosphere from the leaves and stem of the plant.
By constantly losing water the plant can easily take more in by osmosis.
Basically it is a chain. When water leaves the plant water will move in from the stem as there is more water there.
This will make water constantly move up the stem to where the leaves are which in turn will cause the roots to keep drawing in water from the soil again due to osmosis.
This flow of water will keep bringing in mineral ions which are dissolved in the water, which the plant needs in order to live healthily.