SRIMATHI SUNDARAVALLI MEMORIAL SCHOOL

CHENNAI
2020 - 2021
BIOLOGY
TISSUES
(PLANT TISSUES)
CLASS: IX
GIST OF THE TOPIC

All living organisms are made up of cells. In multicellular organisms, there are
millions of cells. Most of these cells are specialised to carry out specific functions.
Each specialised function is taken up by a different group of cells.

A group of cells that are of the same origin and structure and is specialised to
perform a particular function is called the “tissue”.

The plants and the animals have different structures and functions and hence they
are made up of different types of tissues. Let us compare and understand the same.

PLANT TISSUES ANIMAL TISSUES

• The organisation of plant tissues is • The organisation of animal tissues is

meant for the stationary habit of plants. meant for the high mobility of animals.

• The organisation is simple. • The organisation is relatively complex.

• Dead supportive tissues are more • Living supportive tissues are more
abundant in plants. abundant in animals.

• The plant tissues require less energy • The animal tissues require more energy
and maintenance (due to the abundance and maintenance (due to the abundance
of dead cells) of living cells)

• The growth in plants is limited to certain• The cell growth in animals is more
regions and hence there is a uniform and hence there is no
demarcation of dividing and demarcation of dividing and
non-dividing regions. non-dividing regions.

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PLANT TISSUES
 Plants do not move, i.e. they are stationary.
 Since they have to be upright, most of the plant tissues are supportive and
provide structural strength.
 Such supportive tissues mostly have dead cells, as they can provide better
mechanical strength than the live ones, and need less maintenance.
 Some of the plant tissues keep on dividing throughout the life. These tissues are
localised in certain regions.

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CLASSIFICATION OF PLANT TISSUES
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CLASSIFICATION OF PLANT TISSUES
Based on the dividing capacity, the plant tissues are classified as
growing or meristematic tissues and permanent tissues.

MERISTEMATIC TISSUES
• Meristematic tissues are responsible for the growth in plants. The cells in these
tissues can actively divide and form new cells.
• The cells in the meristematic region are small, possess thin cell walls and
large/prominent cell nuclei, do not have vacuoles and intercellular spaces.

THE CELLS OF THE MERISTEMATIC TISSUE UNDER MICROSCOPE

The meristematic tissues are of three types.
(i) Apical Meristem: It is present in the growing tips of the stems and the roots and
increases the length of the stem and the root.
(ii) Lateral Meristem (Cambium): It is present beneath the bark. It is responsible for
the increase in the girth/width of the stem.
(iii) Intercalary Meristem: It is present in the internodes or the base of the leaves and
increases the length between the nodes and that of the plant.

THE LOCATION OF MERISTEMATIC TISSUES

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 PERMANENT TISSUES
Once the cells of the meristematic tissue divide to a certain extent, they stop dividing
and become matured/specialised to carry out a particular function in the plant.
The cells of the meristematic tissue change their shape and size to mature and perform
specific functions in the plant body. This process is called differentiation.
The permanent tissues are of two types - Simple Permanent and Complex Permanent.

(i) SIMPLE PERMANENT TISSUES

• These tissues are simple as they are made up of only one type of cell.
• Here, all the cells that make up the tissue are similar and have the same
structure.
• The simple permanent tissues are classified into three main types – the
parenchyma, the collenchyma and the sclerenchyma.

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(a) PARENCHYMA
i. The cells of the parenchyma tissues are living. They are oval or elongated and are
loosely packed with large intercellular spaces.
ii. The parenchyma is found throughout the plant body and forms the packing tissue.

INTERCELLULAR SPACE

PARENCHYMA TISSUE UNDER MICROSCOPE

Functions of Parenchyma
• It provides mechanical support to the plant body.
• It stores food and nutrients in the vacuoles.
Chlorenchyma: The parenchyma cells which contain chlorophyll and performs
photosynthesis are called chlorenchyma.
Aerenchyma: In aquatic plants, the cells of the parenchyma have large air cavities to
provide buoyancy to the plant. Such cells are called aerenchyma.

(b) COLLENCHYMA
i. The cells of the collenchyma are living. They are oval or elongated and are tightly
packed with less intercellular spaces.
ii. The cells are irregularly thickened in the corners.
iii. They are found below the epidermis in the leaves and in the stem.

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Functions of Collenchyma
• It provides mechanical support to the plant.
• It also provides flexibility to the plant parts so that they can bend without breaking.

(c) SCLERENCHYMA
i. The cells of the sclerenchyma are dead.
ii. They are long and narrow.
iii. The cell walls are composed of lignin which
makes them thick and hard.
iv. The sclerenchyma is found around the
vascular bundles in the veins of the leaves
and in the hard covering of the seeds and
the nuts. It is also found in the coconut husk.
SCLERENCHYMA

Functions of Sclerenchyma
• It makes the parts of the plant hard and stiff.
• It also provides mechanical strength.

PROTECTIVE TISSUES
These are tissues that form the outer layer of the plant body and give protection. They
include the epidermis and the cork.

EPIDERMIS
• The epidermis covers the entire surface of the plant body.
• It protects the plant against
mechanical injury, loss of water and
invasion by pathogenic
microorganisms.
• The cells of the epidermal layer form a
continuous layer without intercellular
spaces.
• The epidermal cells in the aerial parts
of the plant secrete a waxy,
water-resistant layer called the cuticle on
their outer surface.

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Stomata
• Stomata (Singular: Stoma) are small openings on the epidermal layer of the leaf and
the soft part of the stem.
• They facilitate the exchange of gases and transpiration.
• Each stoma is enclosed by two kidney-shaped cells called guard cells which regulate
the opening and closing of stoma.
• In the desert plants, the epidermis has a thick coating of a water proof waxy
substance called cutin to reduce the rate of transpiration.

STOMATAL PORES UNDER LOW STOMATAL PORE UNDER HIGH

POWER OF MICROSCOPE POWER OF MICROSCOPE
CORK
• It forms the outer layer of old tree trunks.
• The cork consists of dead cells which are compactly arranged without intercellular
spaces.
• The cork cells have a substance called suberin in their walls that makes them
impervious to gases and water.
• It protects the plants against injuries, microorganisms and loss of water.
• The Cork being light in weight is used for making bottle stoppers and shuttlecock.

CORK TISSUE

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(ii) COMPLEX PERMANENT TISSUES
• Complex tissues are made of more than one type of cells. All these cells coordinate to
perform a common function.
• Complex tissues are of two types:
(a) Xylem
(b) Phloem

(a) XYLEM:
• The xylem is a complex tissue that transports water and nutrients from the root to
the upper parts of the plant.
• It is composed of four types of cells:
o Tracheids
o Vessels
o Xylem parenchyma
o Xylem sclerenchyma (fibres)
• The flow of water along with minerals in the xylem happens only in the upward
direction, i.e. unidirectional flow.

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 COMPONENTS OF XYLEM

1.Tracheids

• They are elongated tube-like dead cells (without protoplasm) having tapering ends.

• The end walls are perforated by the presence of pits which permit flow of water from
one cell to another.
2. Vessels
• They are long tubes consisting of a series of drum-shaped cells placed one above the
other with their walls perforated or dissolved.
• Vessels are dead and have lignified thick cell wall.
• They are the chief conducting tissues that translocate water and minerals from the
roots to the leaves.
3. Xylem Parenchyma
• These are living cells that help in lateral (sides) conduction of water and minerals.
• They also store food in the form of starch or fats.
4. Xylem Sclerenchyma (fibres)
• The xylem fibres contain dead cells with lignified walls and narrow cell lumen.
• They provide mechanical support to the plant.

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(b) PHLOEM:
• Phloem is the complex tissue that transports food from the site of photosynthesis to
the other parts of the plant.
• It is composed of four types of cells - sieve cells/sieve tubes, companion cells, phloem
parenchyma, phloem fibres.
• The flow of food in the phloem happens in both upward and downward direction,
bidirectional flow.

1. Sieve cells / Sieve tubes

• They are long tubular structures which consist of living cells without nucleus,
endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, plastids etc.
• They help in the translocation of the food prepared in the leaves to different parts of
the plant.
2. Companion cells
• These are living cells that consist of thin cellulosic cell wall and active protoplast with
all cellular components - nucleus, plastid, endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes, etc.
• They assist the sieve tubes in the process of translocation of food.
3. Phloem parenchyma
• These cells store food in the form of starch and fats.
4. Phloem fibres (also called bast fibres)
• They are non-living cells with thick cell wall and provide mechanical support to
plant.
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 SRIMATHI SUNDARAVALLI MEMORIAL SCHOOL
CHENNAI
2020 - 2021
BIOLOGY
ASSIGNMENT - 2
CLASS: IX
TOPIC: TISSUES – PLANT TISSUES

Answer the following:

1. What is differentiation?

2. Why does the epidermis of desert plants have a thick waxy coating of cutin?

3. The plants and the animals are made up of different types of tissues. Give suitable

reasons.

4. Even after the removal of the tip of a sugarcane plant, it exhibits growth and

increases in length. Can you guess the reason?

5. A nail is inserted in the trunk of a tree at a height of 1 metre from the ground level.

After 3 years, where will the nail be present?

6. Draw a labelled diagram of the stem region to show the location of the meristematic

tissues. Mention the function of each meristematic tissue.

7. Draw a simple flowchart to show the classification of the plant tissues.

8. Xylem is a complex plant tissue as it is made up of more than one type of cells. Name

the cells that constitute the xylem. Mention the function of each type of cell.

9. When a potted plant is covered with a glass jar, as shown in the figure, water vapours

appear on the wall of the glass jar. Give reason.

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10. Identify the following tissues and mention their functions.

a) b) c)

11. Assertion and Reason Type Questions:

Directions: In each of the following questions, a statement of Assertion is given
followed by a corresponding statement of Reason. Mark the correct answer as
(a) If both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of
assertion.
(b) If both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of
assertion.
(c) If assertion is true but reason is false.
(d) If assertion is false but reason is true.
(e) If both assertion and reason are false.

i. Assertion: The parenchyma cells help in the storage of food.

Reason : The parenchyma cells are not involved in photosynthesis.
ii. Assertion: The meristematic cells lack vacuoles.
Reason : The meristematic cells are actively dividing and consume all the
nutrients to derive energy for cell division.
iii. Assertion: The permanent tissue is composed of immature cells.
Reason : The meristematic tissue is a group of non-dividing cells.
iv. Assertion: Most of the plant tissues are dead.
Reason : The sedentary existence of the plants requires more mechanical
strength which the dead cells can provide more easily than the live ones.
v. Assertion: A simple tissue is made up of only one type of cell.
Reason : The simple tissues in the plants are the parenchyma, the collenchyma
and the sclerenchyma.

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12. Match the following:
Column A Column B
(a) Parenchyma (i) Tubular cells with perforated walls
(b) Sieve tubes (ii) Thin-walled, packing cells
(c) Aerenchyma (iii) Localized thickenings
(d) Collenchyma (iv) Sclerenchyma
(e) Thick lignified cell walls (v) Buoyancy

13. Choose the correct answer:

i. How is the chlorenchyma described?
(a) It is a simple permanent tissue.
(b) It is a parenchymatic tissue present in the green leaves and stems.
(c) It is photosynthetic in nature.
(d) All of the above.

ii. Identify the tissue that is present below the epidermis in the leaf stalks.
(a) Collenchyma (b) Sclerenchyma (c) Parenchyma (d) Xylem

iii. The cork cells are impervious to gases and water due to the deposition of ________.
(a) Suberin (b) Cutin (c) Lignin (d) Callose

iv. The dead cells that constitute the phloem are ________.
(a) Sieve tubes (b) Phloem fibres (c) Companion cells (d) Phloem Parenchyma

14. Fill in the blanks:

i. The stomata are enclosed by the ________________.
ii. The vascular tissues are the and the _____________.
iii. A group of cells alike in form, function and origin is called the _____________.

15. State whether the following statements are true or false:

i. The root hairs increase the surface area for absorption of water and minerals from the
soil.
ii. The main function of xylem is to conduct food material.
iii. The parenchyma cells lack intercellular spaces.
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