Plant Structure, Growth, and

Development
Chapter 35 & 36
The Cells and Tissues of the Plant Body
Cells of angiosperm embryos differentiate early in
development into 3 distinct tissues:

• A. Dermal Tissue: forms the outside covering of

plants
– Epidermis
– Cuticle
– Cork
– Bark
– Stomata
• B. Ground tissue: for storage, metabolism and
support. Mostly parenchyma, with specialized
support cells of collenchyma and sclerenchyma
• C. Vascular tissue: phloem and xylem
consists of special conducting cells, along with
support fibers & parenchyma
The Three Tissue Systems: Dermal,
Vascular, and Ground

Dermal
tissue
Ground
tissue Vascular
Figure 35.8 tissue
 “Ground” tissue:
Includes various cells specialized for functions such as
storage, photosynthesis, and support

•parenchyma: cells which occur in all 3 tissue

systems, usually photosynthesis, elongated, loosely
packed, thin, flexible cell walls
•collenchyma: primary wall (in cells) thickened at
corners, irregular shapes, provide support
•sclerenchyma: 2 types, support and strengthen the
plant, thick, even cell walls, dead cells provide
framework for additional cells
1. fibers- elongated, elastic strands or bundles
associated with the vascular tissue
2. sclereids- form hard outer covering of seeds,
nuts, and fruit stones
 Parenchyma, collenchyma, and
sclerenchyma cells

PARENCHYMA CELLS COLLENCHYMA CELLS SCLERENCHYMA CELLS

5 m
80 m Cortical parenchyma cells

Sclereid cells
in pear
25 m

Cell wall

Parenchyma cells 60 m
Collenchyma cells
Fiber cells

Figure 35.9
 Vascular Tissue
• Xylem
– Conveys water and dissolved minerals
upward from roots into the shoots
• Phloem
– Transports organic nutrients from where
they are made to where they are needed
 Water-conducting cells of the
xylem and sugar-conducting cells
of the phloem
WATER-CONDUCTING CELLS OF THE XYLEM SUGAR-CONDUCTING CELLS OF THE PHLOEM

Sieve-tube members:
longitudinal view
Vessel Tracheids 100 m

Companion cell
Pits
Sieve-tube
member

Sieve
Tracheids and vessels plate

Vessel Nucleus
element
Vessel elements with 30 m
partially perforated
15 m
end walls Tracheids
Companion
Cytoplasm cell

Figure. 35.9
Vascular tissue
Transports nutrients throughout a
plant; such transport may occur over
long distances

Figure 36.1
 • A variety of physical processes
– Are involved in the different types of
transport
5 Sugars are produced by
4 Through stomata, leaves photosynthesis in the leaves.
take in CO2 and expel O2. CO2 O2
The CO2 provides carbon for Light
photosynthesis. Some O2
produced by photosynthesis H2O Sugar
is used in cellular respiration.

3 Transpiration, the loss of water

from leaves (mostly through
stomata), creates a force within
leaves that pulls xylem sap upward. 6 Sugars are transported as
phloem sap to roots and other
parts of the plant.

2 Water and minerals are

transported upward from
roots to shoots as xylem sap.

7 Roots exchange gases

1 Roots absorb water with the air spaces of soil,
and dissolved minerals O2 taking in O2 and discharging
from the soil.
H2O CO2. In cellular respiration,
CO2 O2 supports the breakdown
Minerals of sugars.
Figure 36.2
 Transpiration is the evaporation of
water from plant leaves
• Plants lose a large amount of water by transpiration
• If the lost water is not replaced by absorption through the
roots
– The plant will lose water and wilt

• Turgor loss in
plants causes
wilting
– Which can
be reversed
when the
plant is
watered

Figure 36.7
 XYLEM: Several factors are at work in
the movement of water and minerals up
a plant stem
• To survive
– Plants must balance water uptake and loss
• Water is pulled upward by negative pressure in the
xylem, caused by losses by transpiration
• Cohesion
• Adhesion
• Osmosis
– Determines the net uptake or water loss by a
cell
– Is affected by solute concentration and
pressure
• Water potential
– Is a measurement that combines the effects of
solute concentration and pressure
 PHLOEM
• Organic nutrients are translocated through
the phloem
• Translocation
– Is the transport of organic nutrients in the plant
• Phloem sap
– Is an aqueous solution that is mostly sucrose
– Travels from a sugar source to a sugar sink
• A sugar source
– Is a plant organ that is a net producer of sugar,
such as mature leaves
• A sugar sink
– Is an organ that is a net consumer or storer of
sugar, such as a tuber or bulb
 Phloem
• The pressure flow hypothesis explains why
phloem sap always flows from source to sink
• Experiments have built a strong case for
pressure flow as the mechanism of
translocation in angiosperms
EXPERIMENT To test the pressure flow hypothesis,researchers used aphids that feed on phloem sap. An aphid probes with a hypodermic-
like mouthpart called a stylet that penetrates a sieve-tube member. As sieve-tube pressure force-feeds aphids, they can be severed from their
stylets, which serve as taps exuding sap for hours. Researchers measured the flow and sugar concentration of sap from stylets at different
points between a source and sink.

25 m

Sieve-
tube Sieve-
member Tube
member

Sap
droplet Sap droplet
Stylet
Aphid feeding Stylet in sieve-tube Severed stylet
member exuding sap
RESULTS The closer the stylet was to a sugar source, the faster the sap flowed and the higher was its sugar concentration.
CONCLUSION The results of such experiments support the pressure flow hypothesis.
Figure 36.19
 The Plant Body
• Three basic organs
evolved: roots, Reproductive shoot (flower)

stems, and leaves

Terminal bud

Node
Internode

• They are organized

Terminal
bud
Shoot
system

into a root Vegetative

shoot
Blade

system and a shoot

Leaf
Petiole
Axillary
bud
Stem

system Taproot

Lateral roots Root

system

Figure 35.2
 Growth in Meristems
• When plants grow, they add new cells
(cells divide by mitosis) at the tips/ends
of branches and roots
• Apical meristems
– Are located at the tips of roots and in the
buds of shoots
– Elongate shoots and roots through
primary growth
• Lateral meristems
– Add thickness to woody plants through
secondary growth
 The Root
– Is an organ that anchors the vascular plant
– Anchors the plant
– Absorbs minerals and water
– Often stores organic nutrients

In most plants:
The absorption of water
and minerals occurs near
the root tips, where vast
numbers of tiny root
hairs increase the
surface area of the root
Figure 35.3
• Many plants have modified roots

(a) Prop roots (b) Storage roots (c) “Strangling” aerial

roots

Figure 35.4a–e (d) Buttress roots (e) Pneumatophores

 Primary Growth of Roots
The root tip is covered by a root cap, which protects
the delicate apical meristem as the root pushes
through soil during primary growth
Cortex Vascular cylinder

Epidermis

Key Zone of
Root hair maturation
Dermal
Ground
Vascular

Zone of
elongation

Apical
meristem
Zone of cell
division
Root cap

Figure 35.12 100 m

Taproot and Fibrous Root Systems

dicot monocot
Stems
A stem is an organ consisting of
An alternating system of nodes,
the points at which leaves are
attached
Internodes, the stem segments
between nodes
 STEMS
1) hold leaves up
and aloft for
maximum sun Terminal bud
Bud scale

exposure Axillary buds

Leaf scar
Node

2) transport
This year’s growth Stem
(one year old)
Internode

nutrients/water One-year-old side

branch formed

up/down (connects
from axillary bud
near shoot apex

leaves to roots)
Leaf scar
Last year’s growth Scars left by terminal
(two years old) bud scales of previous
winters

3) some stems Growth of two

years ago (three
Leaf scar

store food Figure 35.11

years old)
 Many plants have modified stems
(a) Stolons. Shown here on a
strawberry plant, stolons
are horizontal stems that grow
along the surface. These “runners”
enable a plant to reproduce
asexually, as plantlets form at
nodes along each runner.

Storage leaves

(d) Rhizomes. The edible base

of this ginger plant is an example
of a rhizome, a horizontal stem
that grows just below the surface
or emerges and grows along the
Stem
surface.

Root Node

(b) Bulbs. Bulbs are vertical,

Rhizome
underground shoots consisting (c)
Tubers. Tubers, such as these
mostly of the enlarged bases
red potatoes, are enlarged
of leaves that store food. You
ends of rhizomes specialized
can see the many layers of Root
for storing food. The “eyes”
modified leaves attached
arranged in a spiral pattern
to the short stem by slicing an
around a potato are clusters
Figure 35.5a–d onion bulb lengthwise.
of axillary buds that mark
the nodes.
 Tissue Organization of Stems
• In gymnosperms and most dicots
– The vascular tissue consists of vascular bundles
arranged in a ring
Phloem Xylem

Sclerenchyma Ground tissue

(fiber cells) connecting
pith to cortex

Pith

Key

Epidermis Cortex Dermal

Vascular Ground
bundle
Vascular
1 mm

Figure 35.16a (a) A eudicot stem. A eudicot stem (sunflower), with

vascular bundles forming a ring. Ground tissue toward
the inside is called pith, and ground tissue toward the
outside is called cortex. (LM of transverse section)
 In most monocot stems
The vascular bundles are scattered throughout the
ground tissue, rather than forming a ring

Ground
tissue

Epidermis

Vascular
bundles

1 mm
Figure 35.16b (b) A monocot stem. A monocot stem (maize) with vascular
bundles scattered throughout the ground tissue. In such an
arrangement, ground tissue is not partitioned into pith and
cortex. (LM of transverse section)
 Secondary growth adds girth to
stems and roots in woody plants

Secondary phloem
Vascular cambium Cork
Secondary Late wood cambium Periderm
xylem Early wood Cork

(b) Transverse section

of a three-year-
old stem (LM)
Xylem ray
Bark

0.5 mm 0.5 mm
Figure 35.18b
As a tree or woody shrub ages
The older layers of secondary xylem, the
heartwood, no longer transport water and
minerals
The outer layers, known as sapwood
Still transport materials through the xylem
Growth ring

Vascular
ray

Heartwood
Secondary
xylem
Sapwood

Vascular cambium
Secondary phloem
Bark
Layers of periderm
 Leaves

The main photosynthetic organs

of most vascular plants
• Leaves generally consist of
– A flattened blade and a stalk
– The petiole, which joins the leaf to a
node of the stem
 In classifying angiosperms
– Taxonomists may use leaf morphology as
a criterion (a) Simple leaf. A simple leaf
is a single, undivided blade.
Some simple leaves are
deeply lobed, as in an
oak leaf.
Petiole
(b) Compound leaf. In a Axillary bud
compound leaf, the
blade consists of
Leaflet
multiple leaflets.
Notice that a leaflet
has no axillary bud
at its base.
Petiole
Axillary bud
(c) Doubly compound leaf.
In a doubly compound
leaf, each leaflet is
divided into smaller
leaflets.

Leaflet
Figure 35.6a–c Petiole
Axillary bud
 Monocots and dicots

Differ in the arrangement of veins,

the vascular tissue of leaves
Most monocots Most dicots
Have parallel Have branching vein
veins “network”
 Some plant species
(a) Tendrils. The tendrils by which this
pea plant clings to a support are
modified leaves. After it has “lassoed”

Have evolved a support, a tendril forms a coil that

brings the plant closer to the support.
Tendrils are typically modified leaves,
but some tendrils are modified stems,

modified as in grapevines.

leaves that (b) Spines. The spines of cacti, such

as this prickly pear, are actually
leaves, and photosynthesis is
carried out mainly by the fleshy

serve green stems.

various (c) Storage leaves. Most succulents,

such as this ice plant, have leaves
modified for storing water.

functions (d) Bracts. Red parts of the poinsettia

are often mistaken for petals but are
actually modified leaves called bracts
that surround a group of flowers.
Such brightly colored leaves attract
pollinators.

(e) Reproductive leaves. The leaves

of some succulents, such as Kalanchoe
daigremontiana, produce adventitious
plantlets, which fall off the leaf and
Figure 35.6a–e take root in the soil.
 Leaf anatomy
Key Guard
to labels cells
Dermal
Ground Stomatal pore
Vascular Epidermal
cell
Sclerenchyma
Cuticle fibers 50 µm
(b) Surface view of a spiderwort
Stoma
(Tradescantia) leaf (LM)

Upper
epidermis

Palisade
mesophyll
Bundle-
sheath
cell
Spongy
mesophyll
Lower
Guard epidermis
cells Cuticle
Xylem Vein Vein Air spaces Guard cells
Phloem Guard Figure 35.17a–c 100 µm
(c) Transverse section of a lilac
Cutaway drawing of leaf tissuescells
(a)
(Syringa) leaf (LM)
 Leaf anatomy
• The outer surface of the leaf has a thin waxy covering called the
cuticle. This layer's primary function is to prevent water loss within
the leaf. (Plants that leave entirely within water do not have a
cuticle).
• Directly underneath the cuticle is a layer of cells called the
epidermis.
• The vascular tissue, xylem and phloem are found within the veins of
the leaf. Veins are actually extensions that run from to tips of the
roots all the way up to the edges of the leaves. The outer layer of the
vein is made of cells called bundle sheath cells, and they create a
circle around the xylem and the phloem. In most veins, xylem is the
upper layer of cells and the lower layer of cells is phloem. Recall that
xylem transports water and phloem transports sugar (food).
• Within the leaf, there is a layer of cells called the mesophyll. The
word mesophyll is Greek and means "middle" (meso) "leaf" (phyllon).
Mesophyll can then be divided into two layers, the palisade layer and
the spongy layer.
• Palisade cells are more column-like, and lie just under the epidermis,
• the spongy cells are more loosely packed and lie between the palisade
layer and the lower epidermis. The air spaces between the spongy
cells allow for gas exchange.
• Mesophyll cells (both palisade and spongy) are packed with
chloroplasts, and this is where photosynthesis actually occurs.
 stomata
• Stomata are microscopic pores found
on the under side of leaves. You will
find the stomata in the epidermal
tissue. The stomata is bounded by two
half moon shaped guard cells that
function to vary the width of the pore.
 Stomata help regulate the rate of
transpiration
• About 90% of the water a plant loses escapes through stomata
• open
– Increase photosynthesis
– Increase water loss through stomata
• closed
– Decrease water loss through transpiration
– Decrease gas exchange and reduce photosynthesis

20 µm

Figure 36.14