CHAPTER 30 continue to divide and contribute to

the growth of the plant.

PLANT FORM AND PHYSIOLOGY
2. Permanent tissue

30.1 The Plant Body -consists of plant cells that are no

longer actively dividing.
Plant Organ systems

Cells  Tissues  Organs  Organ systems

MERISTEMATIC TISSUE
2 Distinct Organ System
3 Types of Meristematic Tissue
1. Shoot system
 grows above ground, where it absorbs the 1. Apical meristems
light needed for photosynthesis.
-contain meristematic tissue
2 Portions of Shoot System located at the tips of stems and
a. Non-reproductive (vegetative) parts of roots, which enable a plant to
plants – leaves and stems extend in length
b. Reproductive parts of plant – flowers and 2. Lateral meristems
fruits
-facilitate growth in thickness or
girth in a maturing plant
2. Root system
 supports the plants and absorbs water and 3. Intercalary meristems
minerals, is usually underground.
-occur only in monocots, at the
bases of leaf blades and at nodes
(the areas where leaves attach to a
stem). This tissue enables the
monocot leaf.

3 Main Types of Cells that Meristem produces:

1. Dermal tissue
-covers and protects the plant
2. Vascular tissue
-transports water, minerals, and sugars to
different parts of the plant
3. Ground tissue
-serves as a site for photosynthesis
-provides a supporting matrix for the vascular
tissue
-helps to store water and sugars

Secondary tissues are either:

 Simple – composed of similar cell types

(Dermal tissue); or
 Complex – composed of different cell types
(Vascular tissue)

Plant Tissues VASCULAR TISSUE

2 General Type of Plant tissue  Xylem tissue

- Transports water and nutrients from the roots
1. Meristematic tissue
to different parts of the plant
-found in the meristem, which are
- Includes 3 different cell types
plant regions of continuous cell
 Vessel elements
division and growth.
 Tracheids
-cells are either undifferentiated or  Xylem parenchyma
incompletely differentiated, and they  Phloem tissue
 - Transporta organic compounds from the site Axillary bud – is usually found in the axil, where it can give
of photosynthesis to the other parts of the rise to a branch or a flower.
plant
Axil – the area between the base of a leaf and the stem
- Alive at maturity
- Consist of 4 different cell types Apex (tip) of the shoot contains the apical meristem within the
 Sieve cells – conducts apical bud.
photosynthesis
 Companion cells
 Phloem parenchyma
 Phloem fibers

In stems, the xylem and the phloem form a structure called

vascular bundle; in roots, this is termed the vascular stele or
vascular cylinder.
STEM ANATOMY
30.2 Stem
The stem and other plant organs arise from the ground tissue,
Main function: and are primarily made up of simple tissues formed from three
types of cells:
- To provide support to the plant, holding - parenchyma,
leaves, flowers and buds; in some cases, - collenchyma, and
stems also store food for the plant. - sclerenchyma cells.

Stems are a part of the shoot system of a plant. Parenchyma cells

 They may range in length from a few millimeters to - most common plant cells
hundreds of meters, and vary in diameter, depending - they are found in the stem, the root, the
on the plant type. inside of the leaf, and the pulp of the fruit.
 Stems are usually above ground, although the stems
of some plants, such as the potato, also grow
underground.
 Stems may be herbaceous (soft) or woody in nature.
The stem of the plant connects the roots to the
leaves, helping to transport absorbed water and
minerals to different parts of the plant.
 It also helps to transport the products of
photosynthesis, namely sugars, from the leaves to the
rest of the plant.
 Characterized with the presence of nodes and
internodes.

Nodes – points of attachment for leaves, aerial roots, and

flowers.
Internodes – stem region between two nodes Collenchyma cells

Petiole – the stalk that extends from the stem to the base of - elongated cells with unevenly thickened
the leaf. walls
 - they provide structural support, mainly to the Bark – waterproof outer layer of cork cells, which protect the
steam and leaves. plant from damage
- Alive at maturity
- Are usually found below the epidermis
- An example for this is the “string” of the
celery stalk

2. Vascular tissue
- What makes up the vascular tissue is the
xylem and the phloem. They are arranged in
distinct strands called vascular bundles.
- When viewed in cross section, the vascular
Sclerenchyma cells bundles are arranged in a ring
- In plants with stems that live for more than
- Also provide support to the plant, but unlike one year, the individual bundles grow
collenchyma cells, many of them are dead at together and produce the characteristic
maturity. growth rings
- There are 2 types of sclerenchyma cells and - In monocot stems, the vascular bundles are
both types have secondary cell walls that are randomly scattered throughout the ground
thickened with deposits of lignin. tissue

Lignin - an organic compound that is a key component of

wood.

2 Types of Sclerenchyma cells

 Fibers – long, slender cells

 Sclereids – smaller-sized

3 Tissue systems of a Stem

 Dermal tissue
 Vascular tissue
 Grond tissue
- Xylem tissue has 3 types of cells
1. Dermal tissue  Tracheids (conduct water and dead at maturity)
- Consist of: - Xylem cells with thick secondary
 Epidermis – a single layer of cells covering cell walls that are lignified.
and protecting the underlying tissue. - Water moves from one tracheid to
- Epidermal cells are the most another through regions on the
numerous and least differentiated side walls known as pits, where
of the cells in the epidermis. secondary walls are absent.
- Epidermis contains stomata  Vessel elements
- Xylem cells with thinner walls
Stomata – through which the exchange of gases takes place. - They are shorter than tracheids
- Each vessel element is connected
Guard cells – surround each leaf stoma, controlling its to the next by means of a
opening and closing and thus regulating the uptake of carbon perforation plate at the end walls
of the element. Water moves
dioxide and the release of oxygen and water vapor. through the perforation plates to
travel up the plant.
Transpiration – the loss of water by aboveground plant parts  Xylem parenchyma
Trichomes – are hair-like structures on the epidermal surface.

- They help to reduce transpiration, increase - Phloem tissue is composed of :

solar reflectance, and store compounds that  Sieve-tube cells
defend the leaves against predation by
herbivores.
 - Arranged end to end to make up a - Lateral meristem include:
long sieve tube, which transports
organic substances.
- Although alive at maturity, the o Vascular Cambium
nucleus and other cell components o Cork cambium
of the sieve-tube cells have
disintegrated.
 Companion cells
- Found alongside the sieve-tube
cells, providing them with
metabolic support
- Contain more ribosome and
mitochondria than the sieve-tube
cells, which lack some cellular
organelles
 Phloem parenchyma
 Phloem fibers

3. Ground tissue
- Mostly made up of parenchyma cells, but
may also contain collenchyma and
sclerenchyma cells that help support the
stem

Pith – ground tissue towards the interior of the

vascular tissue in a stem or root

Cortex – layer of tissue between the vascular

tissue and the epidermis

GROWTH IN STEMS

Growth in plants occurs as the stems and roots

lengthen.
Indeterminate growth - continue to grow throughout a plant’s life

Determinate growth – ceases when a plant part reaches a particular size.

Primary Growth

- Increase in length of the shoot and the root

- The result of cell division in the shoot apical meristem
- (herbaceous plants)

- Most primary growth occurs at the apices, or tips, of

stems and roots

- Is a result of rapidly diving cells in the apical

meristems at the shoot tip and root tip.

Apical dominance – influence of the apical bud on overall

plant growth, which diminishes the growth of axillary buds that
form along the sides of branches and stems

Secondary Growth

- Characterized by an increase in thickness or girth of

the plant
- Caused by cell division in the lateral meristem (wood)
- (Lacking in herbaceous plants)