Ch. 35Plant structure and function

Monocots and Dicots

Plants have a hierarchical organization Organs, tissues, cells Three basic organs evolved: roots,

stems, and leaves They are organized into a root system

and a shoot system

Figure 35.2

Reproductive shoot (flower)

Apical bud

Node

Internode

Apical bud

Vegetative shoot

LeafBladePetiole

Stem

Taproot

Lateral (branch)roots

Shoot system

Root system

Axillary bud

Roots and Shoots Roots rely on sugar produced by

photosynthesis in the shoot system, and shoots rely on water and minerals absorbed by the root system

Monocots and eudicots are the two major groups of angiosperms

Roots A root is an organ with important

functions: Anchoring the plant Absorbing minerals and water Storing carbohydrates

In most plants, absorption of water and minerals occurs near the root hairs, where vast numbers of tiny root hairs increase the surface area

Root Hairs

Figure 35.4

Prop roots

Storage roots

“Strangling” aerial roots

Buttress roots

Pneumatophores

StemsA stem is an organ consisting of

An alternating system of nodes, the points at which leaves are attached

Internodes, the stem segments between nodes

Many plants have modified stems (e.g., rhizomes, bulbs, stolons, tubers)

Figure 35.5

Rhizomes

Rhizome

Bulbs

Storage leaves

StemStolons

Tubers

Root

Stolon

Leaves The leaf is the main photosynthetic

organ of most vascular plants Leaves generally consist of a flattened

blade and a stalk called the petiole, which joins the leaf to a node of the stem

Figure 35.6

Simple leaf

Axillarybud Petiole

Compound leaf

Leaflet

Axillarybud Petiole

Doublycompound leaf

Axillarybud

Petiole

Leaflet

Tissues Each plant organ has dermal, vascular,

and ground tissues Each of these three categories forms a

tissue system Each tissue system is continuous

throughout the plant

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Figure 35.8

Dermaltissue

Groundtissue

Vasculartissue

Epidermis In nonwoody plants, the dermal tissue

system consists of the epidermis A waxy coating called the cuticle helps

prevent water loss from the epidermis In woody plants, protective tissues called

periderm replace the epidermis in older regions of stems and roots

Trichomes are outgrowths of the shoot epidermis and can help with insect defense

Vascular Tissues The vascular tissue system carries out long-

distance transport of materials between roots and shoots

The two vascular tissues are xylem and phloem 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 The two types of water-conducting cells, tracheids

and vessel elements, are dead at maturity Tracheids are found in the xylem of all vascular

plants

Figure 35.10dVessel Tracheids 100 m

Tracheids and vessels(colorized SEM)

Perforationplate

Vessel element

Vessel elements, withperforated end walls

Pits

Tracheids

Types of plant cellsThe major types of plant cells are:

Parenchyma Collenchyma Sclerenchyma Water-conducting cells of the

xylem Sugar-conducting cells of the

phloem

Parenchymal cells Mature parenchyma cells

– Have thin and flexible primary walls– Lack secondary walls– Are the least specialized– Perform the most metabolic

functions– Retain the ability to divide and

differentiate

Collenchyma Collenchyma cells are grouped in

strands and help support young parts of the plant shoot

They have thicker and uneven cell walls They lack secondary walls These cells provide flexible support

without restraining growth

Sclerenchyma Sclerenchyma cells are rigid because of

thick secondary walls strengthened with lignin

They are dead at functional maturity There are two types:

Sclereids are short and irregular in shape and have thick lignified secondary walls

Fibers are long and slender and arranged in threads

Sugar conducting cells Sieve-tube elements are alive at

functional maturity, though they lack organelles

Sieve plates are the porous end walls that allow fluid to flow between cells along the sieve tube

Each sieve-tube element has a companion cell whose nucleus and ribosomes serve both cells

Sieve-tube element (left)and companion cell:cross section (TEM)

Sieve-tube elements:longitudinal view

Sieve plate

3 m

Companioncells

Sieve-tubeelements

Plasmodesma

Sieve plate

Nucleus ofcompanioncell

Sieve-tube elements:longitudinal view (LM)

30 m

15 m

Sieve plate with pores (LM)

Figure 35.10e

Meristems Meristems are embryonic tissue and

allow for indeterminate growth Apical meristems are located at the

tips of roots and shoots and at the axillary buds of shoots

Apical meristems elongate shoots and roots, a process called primary growth

Lateral Meristems Lateral meristems add thickness to

woody plants, a process called secondary growth

There are two lateral meristems: the vascular cambium and the cork cambium

The vascular cambium adds layers of vascular tissue called secondary xylem (wood) and secondary phloem

The cork cambium replaces the epidermis with periderm, which is thicker and tougher

Figure 35.11

Shoot tip (shootapical meristemand young leaves)

Axillary budmeristem

Root apicalmeristems

Vascular cambiumCorkcambium

Lateralmeristems

Primary growth in stems

EpidermisCortex

Primary phloem

Primary xylem

Pith

Secondary growth in stems

Cork cambium

Cortex

Primary phloem

Secondary phloem

Vascular cambium

Secondary xylem

Primaryxylem

Pith

Periderm

Primary Growth of Roots The root tip is covered by a root cap,

which protects the apical meristem as the root pushes through soil

Growth occurs just behind the root tip, in three zones of cells:

Zone of cell division Zone of elongation Zone of differentiation, or maturation

Figure 35.13

Epidermis

Cortex

Root hair

Vascular cylinder

Zone ofdifferentiation

Zone of elongation

Zone of celldivision(includingapicalmeristem)

Keyto labels

Root cap

DermalGroundVascular

Mitoticcells

100 m

Arrangement of Tissue The primary growth of roots produces the

epidermis, ground tissue, and vascular tissue In angiosperm roots, the stele is a vascular

cylinder In most eudicots, the xylem is starlike in

appearance with phloem between the “arms”

In many monocots, a core of parenchyma cells is surrounded by rings of xylem then phloem

Epidermis

Cortex

Endodermis

Vascularcylinder

PericycleCore ofparenchymacellsXylem

Phloem

Endodermis

Pericycle

Xylem

Phloem

Dermal

Ground

Vascular

Key to labels

50 m

100 m100 m

(a)(b)Root with parenchyma in the

center (typical of monocots)

Root with xylem andphloem in the center(typical of eudicots)

Figure 35.14

Figure 35.14aa

Epidermis

Cortex

Endodermis

Vascularcylinder

Pericycle

Xylem

Phloem

100 m

(a)Root with xylem and phloem in the center(typical of eudicots)

Dermal

Ground

Vascular

Key to labels

Figure 35.14ab

Endodermis

Pericycle

Xylem

Phloem

Dermal

Ground

Vascular

Key to labels

50 m

Arrangement Cont. The ground tissue, mostly parenchyma cells, fills

the cortex, the region between the vascular cylinder and epidermis

The innermost layer of the cortex is called the endodermis

The endodermis regulates passage of substances from the soil into the vascular cylinder

Lateral roots arise from within the pericycle, the outermost cell layer in the vascular cylinder

Stem organization Lateral shoots develop from axillary

buds on the stem’s surface In most eudicots, the vascular tissue

consists of vascular bundles arranged in a ring

Figure 35.17

Sclerenchyma(fiber cells)

Phloem Xylem

Ground tissueconnectingpith to cortex

Pith

CortexVascularbundle

Epidermis

1 mm 1 mm

Vascularbundles

Epidermis

Ground tissue

DermalGroundVascular

Keyto labels

(a) (b)Cross section of stem withvascular bundles forming aring (typical of eudicots)

Cross section of stem withscattered vascular bundles(typical of monocots)

Leaves The epidermis in leaves is interrupted by stomata,

which allow CO2 and O2 exchange between the air and the photosynthetic cells in a leaf

Each stomatal pore is flanked by two guard cells, which regulate its opening and closing

The ground tissue in a leaf, called mesophyll, is sandwiched between the upper and lower epidermis

The palisade mesophyll in the upper part of the leaf

The spongy mesophyll in the lower part of the leaf; the loose arrangement allows for gas exchange

Figure 35.18

Keyto labels

Dermal

Ground

Vascular

Cuticle

Bundle-sheathcell

Xylem

Phloem

Sclerenchymafibers

Stoma

UpperepidermisPalisademesophyll

Spongymesophyll

Lowerepidermis

CuticleVeinGuardcells

(a) Cutaway drawing of leaf tissues

(b)

(c)Cross section of a lilac(Syringa) leaf (LM)

Surface view ofa spiderwort(Tradescantia)leaf (LM)

Guard cells

Stomatalpore

Epidermalcell

Vein Air spacesGuard cells

50

m100

m

Secondary Stem Growth Diagram 35.21 pg. 736

Mechanisms for plant development Three things are responsible for

converting a fertilized plant egg into an adult plant.

1. Growth2. Morphogenesis – body form and

organization3. Differentiation

Arabidopsis thaliana Mustard plant Tiny genome – 27,000 genes (15,000

types) Easy to sequence and transform with

Agrobacterium Scientists can track the gene’s function

in plant development