I.

Overview – Plant Systems

II. Plant cell types & tissues
Cell Types: Parenchyma, Collenchyma, Sclerenchyma
A. Dermal
B. Vascular
C. Ground
III. Plant organs
A. Roots
B. Stems
C. Leaves

IV. Plant Growth

A. Meristems
B. Primary vs. secondary
Plant Structure, Growth, Development

Plants are notably different from animals:

1. SA:V ratio
2. Mobility
3. Growth
4. Response to environment
5. Cell structure
Setting the scene - animal bodies

Cells  Tissues  Organs  Systems

 Plant “bodies”

Plants, like multicellular

animals, have organs
composed of different
tissues, which in turn Shoot
system
are composed of cells
Leaf

Stem

Three Basic Plant Organs:

Roots, Stems, and Leaves Root

system
(also flowers, branches)
 Plant Tissues

• Each plant organ has

dermal, vascular, and
ground tissues

• Each of these three

categories forms a
system

– Roots
– Shoots
– Vascular

Dermal
tissue
Ground
tissue Vascular
tissue
 Plant Tissues
1) Dermal Tissues
• Outer covering
• Protection
2) Vascular Tissues
• “Vessels” throughout plant
• Transport materials

3) Ground Tissues
• “Body” of plant
• Photosynthesis; storage; support

Three basic cell types:

Parenchyma
Collenchyma
Sclerenchyma
What type of tissue transports fluids in plants?

A. Dermal
B. Roots
C. Vascular
D. Stems
E. Ground
 Plant Cell Types
Plant cell structure recap
Cell wall, plasmodesmata

Primary wall (some have

secondary wall), middle lamella
 Plant Cell Types
1) Parenchyma (most abundant):
Flexible, thin-walled cells; living

Parenchyma cells in
Elodea leaf,(w/chloroplasts)
• plant metabolism:
Photosynthesis;
hormone secretion;
sugar storage
• thin wall permeable to gasses
• large central vacuole
• able to divide and differentiate
 Plant Cell Types
2) Collenchyma:
Thick-walled (uneven); living

• Offers support
(flexible & strong)
• Able to elongate
• Grouped in
strands, lack
secondary wall
Collenchyma cells sunflower
 Plant Cell Types
3) Sclerenchyma: Thick, hard-walled; Dead
• Offer support (e.g. hemp
Sclereid cells fibers; nut shells)
in pear (LM)
• Thick secondary walls
with lignin
• Rigid (cannot elongate)
• Two types –
Cell wall sclereids and fibers

Fiber cells in ash tree

 Which is a plant cell type?

A. secondary
B. vascular
C. ground
D. collenchyma
E. leaves
 Plant Tissues - Dermis
Dermal Tissue System (Covering of Plant):

1) Epidermal Tissue
(epidermis): Outer layer

Cuticle: Waxy covering -

reduces evaporation/ predation

Root Hairs: extended root

surface - Increase absorption

2) Peridermal Tissue (periderm):

• Only in woody plants (“bark = dead cells”)
• Protection; support
 Plant Tissues - Dermis
Special Dermal Cells – Trichomes & Root hairs

• Trichomes • Roots hairs

– Hairlike outgrowths of – Tube extensions from
epidermis epidermal cells
– Keep leaf surfaces cool – Greatly increase the root’s
and reduce evaporation surface area for absorption
 Plant Tissues - Dermis

Special Dermal Cells – Guard Cells

Stomata

Guard cells
Epidermal cell

a. 4 µm c. 200 µm

Paired sausage-shaped cells

Stoma Flank a stoma – epidermal
opening
Epidermal cell
Guard cells • Passageway for
b. 71 µm oxygen, carbon dioxide,
and water vapor
 Plant Tissues - Vascular

Vascular tissues made up of multiple cell types:

Arranged in multiple bundles
or central cylinder

Xylem – water and nutrients

Phloem – dissolved sugars and metabolites
 Plant Tissues - Vascular
1) Xylem (dead at maturity): water and minerals roots to shoots
A) Tracheids: Narrow, tube-like cells
B) Vessel Elements: Wide, tube-like cells
C) Fibers
 Plant Tissues - Vascular
1) Xylem:
Tracheids:
- Most vascular plants
- Long, thin, tapered ends, lignified
secondary walls
- Water moves cell to cell through pits
Vessel elements:
- Wider and shorter
- Perforation plates ends of vessel
elements
- water flows freely though perforation
plates
 Plant Tissues - Vascular
2) Phloem (living at maturity) cells:
A) Sieve Tubes: Wide, tube-like cells
B) Companion Cells: support and regulate sieve tubes
 Plant Tissues - Vascular
2) Phloem (living at maturity)
- Moves water, sugar, amino acids
& hormones
Sieve tube elements/members
• Living parenchyma
• Long narrow cells stack end to end
• Pores in end walls (sieve plates)
• Lack most cellular structures including:
• Distinct vacuole, Some cytoskeletal
elements, Nucleus, Ribosomes

Companion Cells:
• Adjacent to every sieve tube
element
• Non-conducting.
• Regulate both cells
• Connected by numerous
plasmodesmata
 Vasculature - Comparisons
Monocots and dicots differ in the arrangement of
vessels in the roots and stems
Dicots Monocots

Stem

Root
 Plant Tissues – Ground Tissue

• Tissues that are neither

dermal nor vascular are
ground tissue
• Ground tissue internal to
the vascular tissue is
pith; ground tissue
external to the vascular
tissue is cortex
• Ground tissue includes
cells specialized for
storage, photosynthesis,
and support
 Roots - Overview
• Roots need sugars from photosynthesis;
• Shoots rely on water and
minerals absorbed by the
root system

• Root Roles:
- Anchoring the plant
- Absorbing minerals and water
- Storing organic nutrients
 Roots - Comparisons
Taproots: Fibrous roots:

Typical of dicots, In monocots mostly,

primary root forms primary root dies,
and small branch replaced by new
roots grow from it roots from stem
 Roots – Structure and Development

• Four regions:
– Root cap
Protection, gravity detection
– Zone of cell division
Mitotic divisions
– Zone of elongation
Cells lengthen, no division
– Zone of maturation
Cells differentiate, outer layer
becomes dermis
 Roots – Structure and Development
In maturation zone, Casparian strip forms –
waterproof barrier material surrounding vasculature
 Roots – Structure and Development
Epidermis

Cortex

Endodermis
Location of
Casparian strip
Monocot

Primary phloem

Pericycle

Primary xylem

Pith
1250 µm

385 µm

Endodermis
Location of
Casparian strip
Endodermis
Primary xylem

Cortex Primary phloem

Eudicot

Epidermis

Pericycle

48 µm

8 µm
 Prop roots
Roots – Many Plants Have
Modified Roots

“Strangling”
aerial roots

Storage roots

Buttress
roots

Water storage
Pneumatophores
 Stems - Overview
Stem: an organ made of Apical bud

– An alternating system Node

of nodes, points at Internode

which leaves attach

Apical
– Internodes, stem length bud
Shoot
between nodes Vegetative
system

shoot

• Axillary bud - structure

that can form a lateral
Axillary
shoot, or branch bud

• Apical/terminal bud - Stem

located near the shoot

tip, lengthens a shoot
• Apical dominance
maintains dormancy in
most nonapical buds
 Vasculature - Stems
• In most monocot stems, the vascular bundles are scattered
throughout the ground tissue, rather than forming a ring
Phloem Xylem

Sclerenchyma Ground
Ground tissue
(fiber cells) tissue
connecting
pith to cortex

Pith Epidermis

Key
to labels

Epidermis Cortex Vascular

Dermal bundles
Vascular
bundle Ground
1 mm Vascular 1 mm
(a) Cross section of stem with vascular bundles forming (b) Cross section of stem with scattered vascular bundles
a ring (typical of eudicots) (typical of monocots)

Dicot Monocot
 Stems – Structure and Development
• Stems have all three types of
plant tissue
• Grow by division at meristems
– Develop into leaves, other
shoots, and even flowers

• Leaves may be arranged in

one of three ways
Rhizomes
Stems – Many Plants
Have Modified Stems

Bulbs

Storage leaves
Stem
Stolons

Stolon

Tubers
 Leaves - Overview

The leaf is the main photosynthetic

organ of most vascular plants

Shoot
system
Leaves generally have
Blade
Leaf
Petiole
a flattened blade

and a stalk called the

petiole, which joins the leaf
to a node of the stem
 Leaves – Structure and Development

• Leaves are
several layers
thick – each
with different
cell types
 Leaves – Structure and Development

• Most dicots have 2

types of mesophyll
– Palisade mesophyll
high photosynthesis
– Spongy mesophyll
air spaces for gas
& water exchange

• Monocot leaves have

1 type of mesophyll
 Leaves
• Leaf epidermis contains stomata - allow CO2 exchange
• Stomata flanked by two guard cells, control open vs. closed
Guard
cells
Key
to labels
Stomatal

50 µm
pore
Dermal
Epidermal
Ground
Cuticle Sclerenchyma cell
Vascular fibers
Stoma (b) Surface view of a spiderwort
(Tradescantia) leaf (LM)

Upper
epidermis

Palisade
mesophyll

Bundle- Spongy
sheath mesophyll
cell

100 µm
Lower
epidermis
Cuticle
Xylem
Phloem Vein
Guard Vein Air spaces Guard cells
(a) Cutaway drawing of leaf tissues cells (c) Cross section of a lilac
(Syringa)) leaf (LM)
 Leaves - Comparisons
Monocots and dicots differ in the arrangement of veins,
the vascular tissue of leaves

Most dicots have Monocots have parallel

branch-like veins and leaf veins and longer,
palmate leaf shape slender blades
 Tendrils
Leaves – Plants have
modified leaves for
various functions

Spines

Storage
leaves

Reproductive leaves

Bracts
 Plant Classification – Monocots vs. Dicots

Basic categories of plants based on structure and function

 Plant Growth
Plant Growth:
1) Indeterminate: Grow throughout life
2) Growth at “tips” (length) and at
“hips” (girth)

Growth patterns in plant:

1) Meristem Cells: Dividing Cells

2) Differentiated Cells: Cells specialized in structure & role

• Form stable, permanent part of plant
 Plant Growth

1) Primary Growth:
• Apical Meristems:
Mitotic cells at “tips” of roots / stems length
1) Increased length
2) Specialized structures (e.g. fruits)

2) Secondary Growth: girth

• Lateral Meristems:
Mitotic cells “hips” of plant

Responsible for increases in stem/root diameter

 Plant Growth
Shoot apical meristem Leaf primordia

Young
leaf

Developing
vascular
strand

Axillary bud
meristems
 Plant Growth
Two lateral meristems: vascular cambium and cork cambium
Primary growth in stems
Epidermis
Cortex
Shoot tip (shoot Primary phloem
apical meristem
and young leaves) Primary xylem
Pith
Lateral meristems:
Vascular cambium Secondary growth in stems
Cork cambium
Axillary bud Periderm
meristem Cork
cambium

Cortex

Pith Primary
phloem
Primary
Root apical xylem Secondary
meristems Secondary phloem
xylem
Vascular cambium
 Plant Growth
Stem – Secondary Growth:
primary phloem
• thicker, stronger stems vascular cambium
Vascular Cambium: between
primary xylem
primary xylem and phloem
epidermis
Produces inside stem:
pith
A) Secondary xylem cortex
- moves H2O, inward
B) Secondary phloem primary xylem
- moves sugars, outward
dividing
vascular
cambium

primary phloem
Vascular Cambium: Plant Growth primary
xylem
Secondary growth
new
secondary
secondary phloem xylem dividing
primary phloem vascular
cambium
primary xylem
secondary xylem new
secondary primary
vascular cambium phloem phloem

pith
cortex

Vascular cambium Growth

Vascular
X X C P P
cambium
Secondary Secondary
X X C P phloem
xylem
X C P

C X C

C
After one year After two years
C of growth of growth
A cross section of what tissue is pictured?

A. Monocot root
B. Dicot root
C. Monocot stem
D. Dicot stem