Chapter 35: Plant Structure, Growth, and Development

Concept 35.1
Tissue- group of cells with a common function, structure or both.
Organ- consists of several types of tissues that have a particular function.
Three basic plant organs: Roots, Stems and Leaves
-basic morphology of plants reflects their evolutionary history as terrestrial organisms that inhabit and draw resources from two environments: below (absorb water
and minerals) and above the ground (carbon dioxide and light).
-ability to acquire these resources arose from the evolution of the basic organs.
-root system and shoot system (stems and leaves): angiosperms and vascular plants rely for survival
-roots are nonphotosynthetic
-photosynthates: sugars and carbohydrates produced during photosynthesis
-shoot system depends on water and minerals absorbed by the roots
-vegetative growth is the production of nonreproductive leaves, stems and roots
-reproductive growth: reproductive shoots bear flowers (composed of leaves that are highly modified for sexual reproduction)
-two major groups of angiosperms: monocots and dicots
Roots
-multicellular organ that anchors a vascular plant in the soil, absorbs minerals and water, store carbohydrates
-(eudicots and gymnosperms) taproot system: consists of taproot (main vertical root that develops from an embryonic root), penetrate deeply, well adapted
to soils where groundwater is not close to the surface
-taproot -> lateral roots (or branch roots)
-(angiosperms) taproot stores sugar and starches (used in flowering and fruit production)
-carrots, turnips and beets: harvested before they flower
-(seedless vascular plants, monocots such as grasses) embryonic root dies -> main root. Instead, many small roots grow from the stem ( advetitous: organ that
grows in an unusual location). Each small root->its own lateral root. The result is fibrous root system: mat of thin roots spreading out below the soil surface (no
main root).
-fibrous root system: do not penetrate deeply, best adapted to shallow soils, regions where rainfall is light and does not moisten the soil too much.
-grasses: shallow roots, hold the topsoil in place, prevent erosion
-root system: anchorage, absorption of water (near the tips of roots, where root hairs increase the surface area of the root)
-root hairs: short-lived, constantly replaced, thin, tubular extension of a root epidermal cell, contribute little to anchorage, main function is absorption
-modified roots: from roots adventitious, stems or leaves, provide support, anchorage, storage of water, nutrients, absorb oxygen from air
-prop roots: aerial roots of corn, suppost tall, top-heavy plants, adventitious after the original root dies
-storage roots: common beat
-pneumatophores: air roots, mangroves, obtain oxygen
-strangling aerial roots: strangler fig, branches of tall trees, send numerous aerial roots to the ground, wrap around the host tree and the host
tree dies
-buttress roots: aerial roots that look like buttresses support tall trunks
Stems
-organ consisting of alternating system of nodes (points at which leaves are attached) and internodes (stem segments between nodes)
-in the upper angle (axil) formed by the leaf and stem is the axillary bud (can form a lateral shoot, branch)
-axillary bud of young shoots are dormant (not growing)
-elongation of a young shoot is concentrated near the shoot tip (consists of apical bud or terminal bud, w/t developing leaves and a compact series of nodes
and internodes)
-dormancy <- proximity of the axillary buds to the apical bud
-apical dominance: inhibition of axillary buds by an apical bud
-by concentrating resources on elongation, the evolutionary adaptation of apical dominance increases the plant’s exposure to light.
-if an animal eats the end of the shoot or if shading results in the light being intense in the side of the plant, axillary bud breaks dormancy or start growing
-growing axillary bud-> lateral shoot (w/t apical bud, leaves, axillary bud)
-removing the apical bud-> growth of axillary buds->more lateral shoots
-modified stems for food storage, asexual reproduction: rhizomes, bulbs, stolons, tubers
-rhizomes: horizontal shoot that grows below the surface. Vertical shots emerge from axillary buds on the rhizome
-bulb: vertical underground shoots (consists of the bases of leaves that store food)
-stolons: horizontal shoots that grow along the surface, also called runners, enable the plant to produce asexually (plantlets form at nodes along
each runner.
-tubers: enlarged ends of rhizomes or stolons for storing food. Eyes of a potato are clusters of axillary buds that mark the nodes.
Leaves
-vascular plants, main photosynthetic organ (green stem also perform photosynthesis)
-consists of a flattened BLADE, and a stalk, the PETIOLE, which joins the leaf and the stem at a node.
-grasses and most monocots lack petioles (instead the base of the leaf forms a sheath that envelops the stem
-monocots and eudicots differ in the arrangement of veins (vascular tissue of leaves)
-monocots: parallel major veins
-dicots: branched network of major veins
-in identifying angiosperms accdg to their structure, floral morphology is used, also leaf morphology such as leaf shape, branching pattern of veins, spatial
arrangement of leaves.
-simple leaf: single undivided leaf. Some are deeply lobed.
-compound leaf: blade has multiple leaflets. Leaflet has no axillary bud at its base.
-doubly compound leaf: each leaflet is divided into smaller leaflets.
-structural adaptation of leaves enable them to withstand strong wind with less tearing. It can also confine pathogens
-leaves are speacialized for photosynthesis. Some are modified to perform additional fxns such as support, protection, storage, reproduction.
-Tendrils: (pea plant) for support. *grapevines-modified stem
-Spines: cactus. Photosynthesis: green stems
-Storage leaves: for storing water. Succulents: ice plant
-Reproductive leaves: produce adventitious plantlets
-Bracts: red parts of poinsettia, called bracts. They attract pollinators
Dermal, Vascular, and Ground Tissues
-each plant organ has dermal, vascular and ground tissue(tissue system: functional system connecting all the organs)
-dermal tissue system: plant’s outer protective covering, first line of defense
-in nonwoody plants: it is called epidermis (layer of tightly packed cells)
-in leaves and most stems: cuticle, waxy coating on the epidermal surface, helps prevent water loss
-in woody plants: periderm: protective tissues, replace the epidermis in older regions of stems and roots
-root hair, an extension of the epidermis cell near the tip of the root.
-Trichomes, hairlike outgrowths of the shoot epidermis, reduce water loss and reflect excess sunlight. They can also provide defense by forming a barrier or
secreting sticky fluids and toxic compounds.
-the vascular tissue system: carries out long distance transport of materials between the root and shoot system.
-xylem: water and dissolved materials upward from roots into the shoots
-phloem: transport sugars from where they are made to where they are needed
-stele-vascular tissue of a root or a stem.
 -in angiosperm: root stele is solid central vascular cylinder of xylem and phloem, the stems and leaves: vascular bundles, separate strands containing xylem
and phloem
-ground tissue system: tissues that are neither dermal mor vascular
-pith: ground tissue that is internal to the vascular tissue
-cortex: ground tissue that is external to the vascular tissue
Common types of plant cells
-plant is characterized by cellular differenciation (specialization of cells in structure and function)
-Parenchyma cells: have primary cell walss (thin and flexible), most lack secondary cell walls, when mature, they have a large central vacuole, they are
least speacilized structurally, perform most of the metabolic fxns, synthesizing and storing organic products, some parenchyma cells in the root and
stems have colorless plastids that store starch, the fleshy tissue of many fruits is composed mainly of parenchyma cells, they retain the ability to divide
and differentiate into other types of plant cellsunder particular conditions
-Collenchyma cells: grouped in cylinders or strands, help support young parts of the plant shoot, thicker primary cell walls (unevenly thickened). Young
stems and petioles have strands of parenchyma cells below the epidermis, they lack secondary walls, lignin, ahardening agent is absent in their
primary cell wall. They provide flexible support without restraining growth. At maturity, they are living and flexible, elongating with the stems and
leaves they support.
-Sclerenchyma: fxn as supporting elements in plants, but with thick secondary walls that are usu. Strengthened by lignin. They are much more rigid
than collenchymas cells. They can’t elongate and they grow in areas that have stopped growing. They are so specialized for support that many are
dead at fxnal maturity, but they produce secondary walls before the protoplast (living part of the cell) dies. The rigid walls remain as a skeleton.
-sclereids: shorter, irregular in shape, have very thick, lignified secondary walls
-fibers: arranged in threads, they are long, slender, and tapered.
-sclereids and fibers are specialized for support and strengthening.
-water-conducting cells of the xylem: tracheids and blood vessels are tubular, elongated cells that are dead at functional maturity.
-tracheids: found in the xylem of nearly all vascular plants, long thin cells with tapered ends. Secondary walls are hardened with lignin which
prevents collapse under water tension and also to provide support
-some have vessel elements: wider, shorter, thinner-walled, les tapered, aligned end to end, forming vessels (long micropipes). Its end walls
have perforation that enable water to pass freely in the vessels
-when the living content of the tracheid and vessel elements disintegrate, the cells thickened walls remain behind, forming a water conduit.
-secondary walls of tracheid and vessel elements are interrupted by pits (thinner regions where only primary walls are present and water can
migrate laterally between cells and water does not have to cross thick secondary walls)
-sugar-conducting cells of the phloem: cells are alive at fxnal maturity
-sieve cells: in seedless vascular plants and gymnosperms, transportation of sugar happens at long, narrow cells
-in angiosperms: sieve tubes (sieve-tube elements or sieve-tube members)
-sieve-tube elements lack nuclei, ribosome, distinct vacuole, cytoskeletal elements (enables nutrients to pass easily)
-sieve plates: end walls between sieve-tube elements. They have pores that facilitate the flow of fluid
-companion cell: nonconducting cell alongside each sieve-tube element. It is connected to the sieve-tube element by plasmodesmata.
Meristem generate cells for new organs
-plant growth is not limited to an embryonic or juvenile period
-indeterminate growth: plant growth throughout the plant’s life
-determinate growth: animals, leaves, thorns, flowers
-life cycle: germination, flowering, seed production, death
-annuals: 1 year or less, wildflowers, staple food crops, legumes, cereal grains, wheat, rice
-biennials: 2 growing seasons, flowering and fruiting in the second year, radishes and carrots
-perennials: many years, trees, shrubs, grasses (from an infection, fire or severe draught)
-meristems: perpetually embryonic tissue (for indeterminate growth)
-apical meristems: tips of root and shoots, axillary buds of shoots -> primary growth
-primary growth: allows the roots to extend and the shoots to increase their exposure to light
-nonwoody plants: primary growth produces all of the plant body
-woody plants: grow in girth those areas that no longer grow in length (secondary growth: caused by the lateral meristems, vascular and cork cambium)
-vascular cambium adds secondary xylem and phloem (vascular tissues)
-cork cambium: replaces the epidermis with a thicker and tougher periderm
-initials: cells that remain as sources of new cells
-derivatives: new cells displaced in the meristem
Primary growth lengthens roots and shoots
-primary plant body (result of primary growth)
-woody: youngest parts, nonwoody: entire plant
 Primary growth of roots
- Root cap: covers the roots, protects the apical meristem, releases a polysaccharide slime that lubricates the soil around the tip of the root
- Zones of cell division – new root cells, root cap (root apical meristem, its derivatives), elongation-root cells elongate, elongation pushes the root
farther into the soil, root apical meristem keeps adding new cells to the younger region of the zone of elongation , differentiation- or maturation,
cells complete their specialization and become distinct cell types
- Primary growth -> epidermis, ground tissue, vascular tissue
- Ranunculus: eudicot, Zea,maize: monocot
- In roots, STELE: vascular cylinder, a solid core of xylem and phloem
-dicot: xylem has a star shape appearance, phloem occupies the space bet the arms of the xylem
-monocot: vascular tissue consists of a central core of parenchyma cells surrounded by a ring of xylem and a ring of phloem, central region is
called PITH (stem: stem pith: a ground tissue)
- ground tissue of roots: parenchyma cells, fills the cortex (between the vascular cylinder and epidermis)
- cells in the ground tissue store carbohydrates and teir plasma membrane absorb water and minerals
-endodermis: innermost layer of the cortex- forms boundary with the vascular cylinder, regulates the passage of subs to the vascular cylinder
-lateral roots arose from the percycle: outermost layer in the vascular cylinder (adjacent and inside the endodermis)
-lateral root pushes the cortex and epidermis
-Primary growth of shoots
-shoot apical meristem: dome-shaped mass of dividing cells at the shoot tip
-leaves <- leaf primordial (finger-like projections along the sides of the apical meristem)
Lateral shoots<-Axillary buds <- islands of meristematic cells left by the apical meristem at the bases of leaf primordial
Intercalary meristem (areas of meristematic tissue separated from the apical meristem) -> leaf cells
-at the base of leaf blades and stem internodes
Tissue organization of stems
-Epidermis covers the stem
-vascular tissue runs the length of a stemin vascular bundles
-lateral shoots develop from axillary bud meristems on te stem’s surface and disrupt no other tissues