. BOTANY REVIEWER .
● Decumbent – reclining on the ground
STEMS — — — — — — — — — — — — — -
Stems – an organ,, collection of integrated tissues
arranged as nodes and internodes
● Nodes – leaves, buds & flowers attach
● Internodes – b/w nodes
FUNCTIONS OF THE STEMS
● Support leaves and reproductive structures
● Provide internal transport (xylem - water ;
phloem - food)
● Produce new living tissues
● Some are modified to store food
● If green: can photosynthesize (manufactures
carbohydrates)
TYPES OF STEMS
● Herbaceous
○ Monocot*,, lacks secondary growth
○ Grow to small diameter
○ Soft & flexible
○ Buds w/o protective scales
○ Covered with epidermis
○ Lives for only 1 season
*includes some dicots e.g. pechay
● Woody
○ Dicot,, has secondary growth
○ Increasing diameter of the stem
○ Covered with periderm/bark
○ Lives after a year
Based on Visibility
● Acaulescent – No obvious stem above the
ground,, Only leaves are seen (ex: grasses)
● Caulescent – w/ obvious stems above
ground (ex: roses)
Based on Texture
● Herbaceous – Soft and fleshy,, lives for only
a short period of time
● Woody – Permanent woody tissues,, hard
and covered w/ bark
● Suffrutescent – Only base is woody,, mix of
the two above
Based on Direction of Growth
● Erect – perpendicular to the
ground
● Ascending – obliquely
● Prostrate /
Procumbent – lying
flat on the ground
● Creeping – rooting at the nodes when
closely pressed to the ground,, w/ runners /
stolons
● Scandent / Climbing – stems
ascend by means support
Based on Location
Aboveground
● Tendrils – long coiling structures,, for
attachment & support of climbing plant
● Stolons / Runners – horizontally oriented
stem,, grows along the solid surface,, for
vegetative reproduction (ex. Strawberry,
bermuda grass)
● Thorns – modified stems,, protects from
grazers (ex. Bougainvillea, roses)
● Cladodes / Cladophylls – flat,, leaf-like,,
modified for photosynthesis (ex. Asparagus,
cactus)
● Culms – hollow / solid stem,, w/ distinct
nodes & internodes,, sometimes forms roots
at the nodes (ex. sugarcane, bamboo)
● Succulent – store large amounts of water,,
common in desert plants (ex. cactus)
Underground
● Bulb – large & round-ish bud,, w/ small
basal stem at its lower part (stores nutrients)
(ex. onions, tulips)
● Corm – stubby, short, fleshy vertically
oriented stems,, stores nutrients (ex. gabi
gladiolus)
● Rhizomes – grow horizontally near the soil
surface,, roots & buds develop @ nodes to
grow into new plants (ex. ginger)
 ● Tubers – swollen regions that store food,, w/
buds called eyes (ex. potatoes)
EXTERNAL STRUCTURES OF STEMS
● Bud – undeveloped shoot,, w/ embryonic
meristems
○ Terminal Bud – @ the tip of the stem
○ Axillary Bud – “lateral buds”,, @ the
axilis
*Forms stems w/ leaves / flowers when they
grow
● Bud Scale – modified leaves,, outer
protective layer (lateral & terminal bud),,
covers dormant terminal bud
● Bud Scale Scars – develop when bud scale
falls off
● Leaf Scar – shows where leaf was attached
to the stem
● Bundle Scar – tiny bumps / small dots in
leaf scar,, broken ends of vascular bundles
passing fr. stem to leaves
● Lenticels – sites of loosely arranged cells
that allow gas exchange,, aid in identifying
the plant
● Nodes & Internodes – (check 1st page)
INTERNAL STRUCTURES OF STEMS
On Dicots
● Epidermis – outer covering,, provides
protection,, w/ cuticle
● Cortex – complex tissue (parenchyma,
collenchyma, sclerenchyma),, part of ground
tissue system
● Vascular Tissues – support & conduction,,
extend throughout the stem & continuous w/
the roots and leaves
● Vascular Bundles
○ Xylem – inner side
■ Tracheids,, vessel elements
○ Phloem – towards the outside
■ Fibers,, phloem fiber cap
○ Vascular Cambium – b/w xylem &
phloem
● Pith – center,, for storage
On Monocots
● Epidermis – outer covering,, provides
protection,, w/ cuticle
● Vascular Bundles – scattered throughout
the stem,, each is enclosed in bundle
sheath (sclerenchyma cells) for support
● Ground Tissue – where vascular tissues
are,, same functions as cortex & pith (dicot)
*no lateral meristems,, primary growth only,, don’t
produce secondary tissues wood & bark
STEMS OF WOODY PLANTS
Secondary Growth – activity of 2 lateral meristems
● Cork Cambium – cells of outer lateral
meristems
○ cork cells
○ cork parenchyma (phelloderm)
Periderm (outer bark) = cork cambium + cork cells +
phelloderm
● Vascular Cambium – gives rise to
secondary:
○ Xylem (wood) – water & minerals
○ Phloem (inner bark) – carbohydrates
(sucrose)
● Cork Cambium (Phellogen) – cylinder of
dividing cells
● Cork Cells (Phellem) – dead @ maturity,,
waterproof,, protect woody stem
● Cork Parenchyma (Phelloderm) – stores
water & food
● Rays – chains of parenchyma cells,,
pathways for lateral transport of water,
materials & carbohydrates
Thickening of stem due to secondary growth
● Epidermis & stomata die
● Stomata replaced by lenticels
● Bark – old, inactive secondary phloem
● Sapwood – secondary xylem,, softer,, water
can pass through
● Heartwood – hard,, older @ the center,, not
conducting water