Plant Physiology

Plant Physiology = plant functions

Chapter Outline

I. Essential Concepts in Plant

Physiology

II. Plant Respiration and Secondary

Products

III. Photosynthesis

IV. Mineral Nutrition

V. Transport and Translocation of

Water and Solutes

VI. Growth and Development

VII. Plants in Relation to the

Environment
Plant Physiology = plant
functions
 Dynamic processes that account for
plant life which encompasses:
 plant growth, metabolism and reproduction

 Crop physiology – applied plant

physiology involving the study of plant
functions in genetically-similar
community of plants, cultivated in a
particular location
Importance of Plant
Physiology
 Efficient use of nutrients
 Coping with abiotic and biotic stresses
 drought, heavy metals pollution, salinity,
atmospheric CO2 increase, pests, weeds,
waterlogging
 Increasing crop yield through plant
growth regulators
 Improving food and feed quality
 Kingdom Plantae

Bryophytes Ferns

Gymnosperms Angiosperms
Diversity of Modern Land Plants
Evolutionary Tree for Land
Plants
Life Cycle of Land Plants
 Summary: Plant Kingdom
Bryophytes Seedless vascular plants Gymnosperms Angiosperms
• Nonvascular • Vascular tissue present • Vascular tissue present • Vascular tissue present
• Haploid dominance • Diploid dominance • Diploid dominance • Diploid dominance
• Water required for • Water required for • Pollen grains; water not • Seeds form inside an
fertilization fertilization required for fertilization ovary that develops
• Seedless • Seedless • “Naked” seeds into a fruit
whisk
ferns,
liverworts mosses club mosses, horsetails, gnetophytes, ginkgos, monocots, dicots,
hornworts spike mosses ferns conifers, cycads magnoliids, basal
groups

ancestral alga
 Basic Requirements of Unifying Principles of Plant Life
Plant Life

 Photoautotrophs
 Light
 Cellulosic cell wall

 Carbon dioxide
 Non-motile (sedentary)

 Water  Mechanism to avoid

desiccation (land plants)

 Minerals
 Transport processes

 Oxygen (produced by
plants via
photosynthesis)
The
Plant
Body
Plant
Tissue
Systems
The Tissue Systems Give Rise to the
Organs of a Plant
 Plant Tissue Systems
Ground tissue system
Photosynthesis, storage, and structural support
of other tissues
Vascular tissue system
Distributes absorbed water and mineral ions
and products of photosynthesis
Dermal tissue system
Covers and protects exposed plant surfaces
 Simple Tissues: Ground Tissues

 Parenchyma makes up most primary growth

Functions in secretion, storage, photosynthesis
(mesophyll), and tissue repair

 Collenchyma supports growing plant parts

Pectin provides flexibility

 Sclerenchyma contains lignin for support

Cells (fibers, sclereids) are dead at maturity
Simple Tissues
Complex Tissues: Vascular Tissues

 Xylem carries water and ions through the plant

 Consists of two types of cells that are dead at
maturity: tracheids and vessel members
 Lignin-filled secondary walls

 Phloem conducts sugars, other organic solutes

 Sieve tubes connect end to end at sieve
plates
 Companion cells load sugars into sieve tubes
Vascular Tissues
 Complex Tissues: Dermal
Tissues

 Epidermis
Usually a single outer layer of cells that
secrete a waxy, protective cuticle
May contain specialized cells that form
stomata for gas exchange
 Periderm
Replaces epidermis in woody stems and
roots
Plant Cuticle
Flowering Plant Tissues