Morphology & Anatomy of Flowering Plants: Essential NEET Facts

Potato = underground stem tuber (eyes = axillary buds). Sweet potato = tuberous adventitious root (no buds). Ginger = rhizome. Onion = bulb. Colocasia = corm.
Prop roots = Banyan (from branches). Stilt roots = Maize, Sugarcane (from lower nodes). Pneumatophores = $\frac{Rhizophora}{mangrove}$ (upward-growing respiratory roots).
Phylloclade = Opuntia (flattened photosynthetic stem; leaves = spines). Phyllode = Acacia auriculiformis (flattened petiole).
Inflorescence racemose = indefinite (capitulum in Asteraceae is most condensed). Inflorescence cymose = definite (oldest flower at apex).
Aestivation vexillary = Fabaceae only (standard + wings + keel).
Placentation: marginal (pea), axile (tomato), parietal (mustard), free central (Dianthus), basal (sunflower).
Fabaceae: zygomorphic, diadelphous (9+1), vexillary, marginal, legume/pod.
Solanaceae: actinomorphic, 5 epipetalous stamens, bicarpellary, axile, berry or capsule.
Liliaceae: trimerous, 6 tepals (3+3), 6 stamens, axile, superior ovary.
Malvaceae: epicalyx (bracteoles outside calyx), monadelphous stamens, axile placentation.
Brassicaceae: cruciform (4 petals in cross shape), tetradynamous (4 long + 2 short = 6 stamens), parietal, siliqua/silicula.
Asteraceae: capitulum inflorescence, ray florets (ligulate) + disc florets (tubular), syngenesious anthers (fused), inferior ovary, cypsela with pappus.
Poaceae: lodicules (vestigial perianth), 3 stamens with versatile anthers, feathery stigma (wind pollination), caryopsis (pericarp fused to seed coat).
Collenchyma = living, pectin-thickened corners, flexibility. Sclerenchyma = dead, lignin-thickened, rigidity. Parenchyma = living, thin cellulose walls, storage.
Sieve tubes = living but enucleated (no nucleus at maturity); assisted by companion cells (living, nucleated).
Xylem vessels and tracheids = dead at maturity. Xylem parenchyma = only living xylem component.
Dicot stem: conjoint open VBs in a ring; cambium present; secondary growth occurs.
Monocot stem: conjoint closed VBs scattered; no cambium; no secondary growth.
Dicot leaf = dorsiventral (palisade on top + spongy below). Monocot leaf = isobilateral (undifferentiated mesophyll + bulliform cells for leaf rolling).
Caryopsis: pericarp inseparably fused with testa — diagnostic of Poaceae (wheat grain is technically a fruit).
Cypsela with pappus (modified calyx): diagnostic of Asteraceae (e.g., sunflower, Tridax).