Science & Tech · Plant Genetics & Crop Science
The concept being tested: Plant classification by growth form and structure.
Consider the following pairs: I. Cassava : Woody shrub II. Ginger : Herb with pseudostem III. Malabar spinach : Herbaceous climber IV. Mint : Annual shrub V. Papaya : Woody shrub How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
Three pairs are correctly matched, not two, four, or five. Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is a genuine woody shrub grown for its starchy tuberous roots, so that pairing holds. Ginger's true stem is the underground rhizome; the visible aerial shoot is a pseudostem built from tightly rolled leaf sheaths, the same construction seen in banana, so 'herb with pseudostem' is accurate. Malabar spinach (Basella alba) is a soft, fleshy-stemmed herbaceous climber grown as a leafy vegetable, so that pairing is also correct. Mint, however, is a spreading perennial herb, not an annual shrub. Papaya, despite its tree-like height, produces no true woody secondary growth in its trunk and is botanically classified as a giant (arborescent) herb, not a woody shrub. With only cassava, ginger, and Malabar spinach correctly matched, the count is three.
What UPSC was testing
The question leans on the everyday illusion that papaya's tall, thick stem and mint's woody-looking base make them shrubs, when neither produces true secondary (woody) growth. The how-many-pairs format also forces independent verification of every pair rather than allowing elimination shortcuts.
How often this comes up
This concept has appeared 7 times in UPSC Prelims General Studies Paper I between 2015 and 2025 — in 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The option-by-option autopsy for this question — why each of the other three is wrong, and which neighbouring concept each one was built from — is in the app.