Q.Does the growth pattern in plants differ from that in animals? Do all the parts of plant grow indefinitely? If not, name the regions of plant, which can grow indefinitely.

Yes, the growth pattern in plants differs fundamentally from that in animals: plant growth is indeterminate (open), meaning the plant can go on producing new cells and organs throughout its life, whereas most animals grow to a fixed, determinate size and then stop. Not all parts of a plant grow indefinitely, however — only the regions containing meristems retain this capacity, namely the root apical meristem and the shoot apical meristem (responsible for elongation, or primary growth), and, in dicots and gymnosperms, the lateral meristems (the vascular cambium and cork cambium), which are responsible for increase …

Plant growth is unique in that plants retain the capacity for unlimited growth throughout their life, a pattern described as indeterminate or open growth. This is entirely different from the growth pattern typical of most animals, whose bodies grow to a genetically determined final size and then stop, showing determinate growth.

This indeterminate capacity in plants is not spread evenly across the whole plant body — it is restricted to the locations where meristems are present. Two categories of meristem are responsible:

• The root apical meristem and the shoot apical meristem, which bring about primary growth, principally the elongation of the plant along its axis, and are present in essentially all plants. …

Method: Applying the Meristem-Location Rule for Indeterminate Growth

Use this method for any question comparing plant vs animal growth patterns, or asking which plant regions can grow indefinitely.

Steps

Step 1: Name the two growth patterns

Plants show indeterminate (open) growth — capable of continuing throughout life. Most animals show determinate growth — growth stops once a genetically fixed final size is reached. State this contrast first.

Step 2: Locate WHERE indeterminate growth actually happens

The capacity to keep growing is not spread evenly through the plant body — it is restricted to regions containing meristems. Everywhere else (mature, differentiated tissue) does not itself keep growing.

Step 3: Enumerate the meristem categories …