● organ: several types of tissues that together carry out particular function

● tissues: group of cells that together perform specialized function

● 3 major organs:
○ roots: root system
○ stems and leaves: shoot system
● Roots:
○ anchors vascular plant in soil
○ absorbs minerals and water
○ stores carbs and other reserves
○ primary root:
■ first organ and first root to emerge from germinating seed
■ branches quickly to form lateral roots
○ taproot system: often found in tall erect plants with large shoort masses:
■ one main vertical root (the taproot) keeps lant from toppling
■ lateral roots have role of absorption
■ Taproot in costly genergy wise, though allows plant to be taller (more light
and better seed/pollen dispersal)
■ can sometimes specialize for food storage
○ fibrous root system
■ thick mat of slender roots spreading out out
■ found in small plants and those with trailing growth habit
● susceptible to grazing
■ most monocots
■ primary root dies early on
■ small roots emerge from stem
● called adventitious
● each root form own lateral roots, which form own lateral roots, etc
■ Absorption occurs primarily near tips of roots, where root hairs grow
(thousands)
● root hairs are extenison of SINGLE CELLS
○ Most root systems also from mycorrhizal association
■ symbiotic interactions with soil fungi
○ Some evolutionary adapatations fo roots
■ proproots (in corn) aerial and adentitious
■ storage roots (beets)
■ Pneumatophores (mangroves, protrude out of water to get oxygen in low
tide)
■ strangling aerial roots
■ buttress roots (for large trees)
● Stems:
○ bearing leaves and buds
○ elongates and orients shoots to maximize photosynthesis
○ elevate productive structures
■ better pollen dispersal
 ○ green stems can perform a little photosynthesis
○ nodes: where leaves are attached
○ internodes: parts of the the stem
○ most growth of young shoot is near growing shoot tip, the apical bud
○ axillary bud: in upper angle between each leaf and stem, can bud into a lateral
branch, thorn, or flower
○ some plants have stems with alternate function
■ food storage
■ asexual reproduction
● Leaves
○ main photosynthetic organ
○ parts
■ flattened blade
■ stalk
■ petiole: joins leaf to stem at a node
● grass and many monocots lack petioles, base of leaf form sheath
that envelops stem instead
○ veins: vascular tissue of leaves
■ monocots have parallel major veins of equal diamter the length of the
plade
■ EUdicots have branched network of veins from middle major vein
(midrib)
○ Evolutionary adaptations of leaves
■ compound leaves: may prevent inection from spreading to entire leaf if
contained iwthin one leaflet
■ tendrils (pea plants)
● mostly leaves, but some tendrila are stems like in grapvines
■ spines (spines are actuall leaves in cacti, photosynthesis happens in
stems)
■ storage leaves (bulbs, ex onions)
■ Reproductive leaves (some succulents)

Dermal, Vascular, Ground tissue system

● Each tissue type form a tissue system that connects all the plants organs
● Dermal
○ plants outer protective covering
■ non woody plants have a single tissue: the epidermis have the cuticle,
waxy epidermal coating prevents water loss
■ woody plants have periderm that replaces epidermis in older regions
○ Dermis is specialized in different regions (ex in roots vs shoots)
 ■ nutrients are absorbed through epidermis
■ thichomes-highly specialized epidermal cells in shoots
● Vascular systems
○ facilitate transport of materials and provide mechanical support
○ In angiosperms,
■ root sperm is solid ventral vascular cylinder
■ stem and leave stele have vascular bundles
○ 2 types (collectively tissues is called the stele)
■ xylem: conducts water and dissolved minerals upwards
■ phloem: transports sugars from leaves to where they are needed
● Ground tissue system
○ neither dermal nor vascular
○ internal to vascular tissue is called pith, externa is called cortex
● Common types of plants cells
○ Parenchyma cells
■ have thin and flexible primary walls, most lack secondary walls
■ large central vacuole
■ perform most metabolic funciton of plants
● synthesixe and shore various products
■ can photosynthesise in leefs, have colorless plastids in stems and roots,
flesh of fruits are parenchyma cells
■ most retain ability to divide and differentiate
○ Collenchyma
■ help support young parts of plant shoot
■ grouped in sections
■ have thick uneven walls
■ flexible support without restraining growth
○ Sclerenchyma cells
■ Even more rigid
■ has thick secondary wall, contains lot of lignin,
■ occur where plants have stopped growing
■ often dead at maturity, where the rigid skeleton stays behind
■ sclereids: specialized for support and strengthening, boxier and irregular,
found in nutshells
■ fibers: specialized, grouped in strands, long, splendid, tapered
● Hemp trigers
● flax fibers
○ Water-conducting cells of xylem
■ both dead at functional maturity
■ tubular, elongated
■ when the middle of vell disintegrates, they form tubes that water can flow
through
● secondary walls have pit where only primary walls are present, so
water can move between neighboring cells
 ■ secondary walls hard ended with lignin that supports and prevents
collapse under tension of water transport
■ tracheids :
● in xylem of all vascular plants
● long thin cells with tapered
■ vessel elements:
● most angiosperms and few gymnosperms and few seedless
vascular plants
● wider, shorter, tinner-walled
● aligned end to end forming long pipes called vessels
● end walls have perforation plates that let water flow greely
○ Sugar-conducting cell of phloem
■ alive at functional maturity
■ In seedless vascular plants, gymnosperms, sugars and other nutrients
transported through long narrow sieve cells
■ In phloem of angiosperms, these nutrients transported through sieve
tubes, chains of cells called sieve-tube elements
● cells lack nucleus, ribosomes, vacuole, and parts of cytoskeelton
● alos nutrients to pass through more easily
● end walls between sieve plates have pores that facilitate flow of
fluid
■ Each sieve-tube element ha sa companion cell: connected to the sieve
tube by plasmodesmata and it's nuceus and ribosomes serve both cells.
● In some plants, companion cells help load sugars into sieve
tube-elements

Meristems and secondary grouth

● Growth in plants is throught entire life
○ process called indeterminate growth
● Plants have pereptually dividng, unspecilaized tissues: meristems
○ most plants grow continuoysly except fdormant periods
● 2 main types
○ Apical meristems
■ at tips of roots and shoots
■ provide additonal cells to increase length
● process called primary growth
○ non woody plants are almost completely from primary
growth
○ woody plants also grow in circumference in parts that don't
grow in length
■ Growth in thickness called secondary growth
■ Caused by lateral meristems
 ● are cylinders of dividng cells along
length of roots and stems
● vascular cambium
○ adds layer of vascular tissue
(secondary xylem (wood) and
secondary phloem
● cork cambium
○ replaces epidermis with tougher
periderm
● Meristems divide relatively frequently
○ called initials/stem cells
○ the new cells displaced from eristem, known as derivatives divide until the
daughter cells become specialized in mature tissues
○

● Differentiate between annuals, biennials, and perennials

Primary growth lengthens roots and shoots

- Nonwoody plants are almost all primary growth, vice versa fro woody plants
● Primary growth of roots and shoots differ dramatically
● Roots
○ tip of root has root cap
■ protects delicate apical meristem as it pushes through the soil
■ secretes polysaccharide slime to lubricate soil
■ growth occurs just behind tip in 3 overlapping zones
● Cell division
 ○ includes root apical meristem and its derivatives (the cells
that come off it that haven't differentiated yet)
● elongation
○ most growth occurs
○ root cells elongate sometimes to 10x
● differentiation
○ cell complete differentiation and become distinct cell types
○ Primary growth of root produces epidermis, ground tissue and vascular tissues
■ root stele is a vascualr cylinder with a solid core of xylem and phloem
● most often xylem forms a star and phloem fills in the gap sin
eudicot roots
● In monocots, vascular tissue consists of cnetral cor eof
unspecialized parenchyma cells surrounded by alternating rings of
xylem and phloem
● percycle: outermost layer of vascular cylinder, right inside
endodermis
○ lateral roots emerge from active regions of here
○ destructively push through cortex and epidermis
■ ground tissue of root
● stores carbs
● transports water and salts from root hairs to center
● has large incellular space, so extracellular of H2O, O and
minterals can occur from root hair inward
● innermost layer of cortex called endodermis
○ 1 cell thick sleectice barrier
○ Primary growth of shoots
■ Growth is from shoot apical meristem
■ Leaves develope from leaf primordia, projecions from sides of apical
meristem
● young leaves are spaced clsoe in a bud, but become further apart
when shoot elongation occurs
■ Branchin occurs because normally dormant auxiliary buds are activated
● the closer axillary buds are to active apical bud, the more inhibited
it is, called apical dominance
● Ex. animal consumption or shading on the shoot, axillary buds will
activate, produce lateral shoot with it's own apicalbud and axillayr
buds
■ some monocots, especially grasses has merstematic activity at bases of
stems and leaves, which allows damaged leafs to regrwo (ex after
mowing)
● Shoots:
○ Unlike lateral roots, laterla shoots develpe from axillary buds on teh SURFACE
■ doesn't disrupt other tissues
○ Eudicots:
 ■ vascular tissue is in a ring of bundles, xylem inside and phloem outside
○ Monocots:
■ vascular bundles are scattered throughout
○ In both, stems are mostly parenchyma cells
○ Just below epidermis has layer of collenchyma cells
○ Sclerenchyma cells, especially fiber cells provide support in parts of stem no
longer elongating
● Leaves:
○ Epidermis interrupted by pores: stomata
■ allow gas exchange
■ avenues of water loss
■ flanked by two guard cells that regulate opening of pore
○ Leaf ground tissue called mesophyll
■ sandwiched between upper and lower epidermal layers
● mostly parenchyma cells specialized for photosynthesis
■ two layers
● palidade
○ layers of elongated parenchyma above
● Spongy
○ below palisade with loose cells with lots of air space
(especially around stomata)
○ Vascular tissue is closely in contact with photosynthetic ground tissue
○ vascular tissue is also framework that reinforces shape of leaf
■ each vein ahs protective bundle sheath
● regulated movement of things btw vascular tissue and msophyl

Secondary Growth
● Unusual in monocots, most eudicot and gymnosperm species undergo it
○ in stems and root, rarely leaves
● produced by vascular cambium and cork cambium
● primary and secondary growth simultaneous
● Vascular cambium
○ cylinder of ONE-cell thick meristematic cells
○ In stem and root, is between primary xylem and primary phloem
○ Separate phloem and xylem by adding secondary of the same type between
xylem and phloem (inside to outside is x1 x2 p2 p1)
○ MOStlY PRODUCE XYLEM NOT PHLEUM
○ some produce long cells parallel of stem
■ tracheids
■ vessel elements
■ fibers of the xylem
■ seive-tube elements
 ■ companion cells
■ axially oriented parenchyma
■ fibers of the phloem
○ Also produce short perpendicular cells to stem
■ vascular rays mostly parenchyma cells that connect secondary xylem
and phloem
■ move water and nutrients btw x and p, store carbs, aid in wound repair
○ Sec. Xyl is mostly
■ Heavily lignified, so wood is hard and strong
■ tracheids
■ vessel elements
■ fibers
○ Most gymnosperms have tracheids as the sole water-conducting cells
○ Most angiosperms also have vessel elements
○ Growth rings
■ occur b/c early spring wood has larger diameter and thinner cell walls,
and late summer wood has thick-walled cells that transport less water
○ Older xylem doesn't transport H2O and minerals (xylem sap) and are called
heartwood
■ usually darker because saturated with resins to prevent fungi and insect
borers
○ Only youngest phloem functions in sugar transport
■ older phloem is sloughed off
● Cork Cambium
○ Circle of cells on the outer cortex of stems and pericycle in roots
○ Early secondary growth, epidermis is pushed outward, splits, drys, and fals off
■ replaced by tissues form teh first cork cambium
■ makes cork cells
■ accumulate on exterior oc cork cambium
■ mature and deposits waxy subein in their walls and die
■ waxy cork layer is barrier to protect stem or root
■ cork cambium nd it's daughter cells comprise layer of periderm
○ Absorb oxygen though lenticels, small raised areas with space between cork
cells to breathe (often horizontal slits)
○ Theckening of stem/root migh split and make useless the first cokr cambium,
whereupon another is produced
○ Older periderm sloughs off (peeling exterior of trees)
● Cork is NOT bark
○ bark is everything outside vascular cambium.
● Weight by stem in arabidopsis thaliana caused wood formation,
Differentiation
● development: specific series of changes a cell forms tissues, organs and organisms
○ Affected by DNA and external factors
● Ability to alter form in response to environment is developmental plasticity
○ most common in plants
● 3 overlapping processes
○ growth
■ cell enlargement
● plane of cell division of important
○ often thought to be whatever is the shortest path
○ maize mutant study thinks mechanical stresses
■ Cytoplasm not always divided symmetrically
● asymmetric cell division, common in formation of guard cells (3
squares in golden ratio)
■ Plant growth is through water in large central vacuole (cheaper than
cytoplasm)
■ Plants mostly elongate in 1 direction
● perpendicular to non-stretchable microfibrils
●
○ morphogenesis
■ pattern formation: the developement of specific structures in specific
locations
■ How? 2 Theories
● lineage-based mechanisms (Occurs in animal cells)
○ cell fate determined early on, and cells pass it on
○ differentiation is according to direction meristematic cells
divide and expand
● position-based mechanism MOre likely
○ cell's final position determines the type of cell it becomes
○ cell differentiation
■ Since mature cells and dedifferentiate and produce other types of cells, it
must have DNA to do all types of cell functions
■ Depends on control og gene exrepssion (regulation of transciption,
translation, which affects protein production)
● largely though cell-to-cell communication
●
● Shifts in developement: Phase changes
○ juvenile to adult vegetative to adult reproductive
■ occur within single region: shoot apical meristem
■ morphological changes are called phase changes
○ juvenile nodes and internodes stay juvenile even after apical meristem ahs
changed to adult phase
 ■ any new leaves on branches from axillary buds at juvenile nodes will stay
juvenile
○ Then flower!
● Genetic Control of flowering
○ transition triggered by combo of environmental cues
■ day length
■ hormones
○ associated with switching on floral meristem identity genes
■ proteins products are transcription factors that regulate genes that convert
indeterminate vegetative meristems to determinate floral meristems
■ order of emergence determines which organ
● sepal
● petal
● stamen
● then carpel (innermost whorl)
■ organ identity genes: belong to the MADS-box that encodes
transcription factors that regulate development of characteristics floral
pattern
● 3 classes floral organ identity genes
○ ABC hypothesis: 3 genes ABC, when switched on in
combination, certain combination tell emergying cells to
become what type of flower part