Leaves:

Form and structure

 The Plant Body: Leaves
• FUNCTION OF LEAVES
– Leaves are the solar
energy and CO2 collectors
of plants.

– In some plants, leaves

have become adapted for
specialized functions.
 And so, on to leaves
• Leaves are the principle
structure, produced on
stems, where photosynthesis
takes place. 

• Cacti are an exception.  The

leaves are reduced to spines,
and the thick green, fleshy
stems are where
photosynthesis takes place.
 General leaf form
• Leaves are the main
photosynthetic organs of most
plants
– but green stems are also
photosynthetic.
Blade
– While leaves vary extensively
in form, they generally consist
of a flattened blade and a
stalk, the petiole, which joins
the leaf to a stem node.
Petiole
– In the absence of petioles in
grasses and many other
monocots, the base of the leaf
forms a sheath that envelops
the stem.

• Most monocots have parallel major

veins that run the length of the
blade, while dicot leaves have a
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multi branched network of major Benjamin Cummings
veins.
Leaf Arrangement on the Stem

Opposite: 2 leaves at a node,

on opposite sides of the stem

Spiral: 1 leaf per node, with the

second leaf being above the first
but attached on the opposite
side of the stem

Whorled: 3 or more leaves at a

node
 Leaf Arrangement on the Stem
• Plant taxonomists use leaf shape, spatial arrangement of leaves,
and the pattern of veins to help identify and classify plants.

– A Simple leaves have a single, undivided blade, while compound

leaves have several leaflets attached to the petiole.

– A Compound leaf has a bud where its petiole attaches to the

stem, not at the base of the leaflets.

Copyright © 2002 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

 Leaves - Comparisons
Monocots and dicots differ in the arrangement of
veins, the vascular tissue of leaves

Most dicots have Monocots have parallel

branch-like veins and leaf veins and longer,
palmate leaf shape slender blades
INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF LEAVES

• Each part of the leaf has an important job.

chloroplasts

Copyright © 2002 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

 Conserves water

Photosynthesis

Transports water
and sugar to stem
Structures of the Leaf and roots
Copyright © 2002 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Structures of the
Leaf
Cuticle – the outermost layer of both
the upper and lower surfaces of the
leaf. It is clear and waxy to prevent
against water loss.

Epidermis – a layer of cells one cell

thick that provides protection for the
inner tissues. These cells are clear to
allow light to reach the photosynthetic
tissues.

Mesophyll – between the epidermal

layers. It contains palisade cells that
are tall, tightly packed, and filled
with chloroplasts for photosynthesis.

It also has spongy cells which are

irregularly shaped, have large air
spaces between them, and fewer
chloroplasts.
Structures of the
Leaf
Stomates – openings in the surface of
the leaf and stems for gas exchange.
The lower surface of a leaf usually has
more. Water vapor also passes out
through these holes.

Guard cells – two of these special cells

surround each stomate and regulate
the opening and closing of the stomate.

Veins – contain the vascular tissue that

is continuous with that in the stem.
Xylem carries water and minerals
upward. Phloem carries dissolved food
throughout the plant.
Typical Dicot Leaf Cross-Section

Cuticle
Epidermis
Palisade
Parenchyma

Vascular
bundles

Guard
Spongy
Cells
Parenchyma
Stoma
 Function of the Leaf
• Photosynthesis
• Gaseous exchange
– take in O2 and release CO2 during
respiration
– take in CO2 and release O2 during
photosynthesis

Water Vapour can be lost from the

surface of the leaf in a process known
as Transpiration.
 TRANSPIRATION
• Plants must supply water to all
their tissues. It moves from the
roots up the stem to the leaves by
capillary action.

• Most of the water plants take up is

lost to the atmosphere by
evaporation.

• The evaporation of water vapor

from plant surfaces is called
transpiration.

• Most takes place through

stomates.
• The rate of transpiration is regulated
by the size of the opening of the
stomates.
• They are usually closed when there is
too little water available, temperature
is low, or there is little light.
• Most plants open their stomates during
the day and close them at night.
• This is controlled by
the guard cells.
 Stomatal control
• Almost all leaf transpiration
results from diffusion of water
vapor through the stomatal pore
– waxy cuticle
• Provide a low resistance pathway
for diffusion of gasses across
the epidermis and cuticle

• Regulates water loss in plants

and the rate of CO2 uptake
– Needed for sustained CO2
fixation during
photosynthesis
 Stomatal control
• When water is abundant:
• Temporal regulation of stomata
is used:
– OPEN during the day
– CLOSED at night
• At night there is no
photosynthesis, so no demand
for CO2 inside the leaf
• Stomata closed to prevent
water loss
• Sunny day - demand for CO2 in
leaf is high – stomata wide open
• As there is plenty of water,
plant trades water loss for
photosynthesis products
 Stomatal control
• When water is limited:
– Stomata will open less or
even remain closed even
on a sunny morning
• Plant can avoid
dehydration

• Stomatal resistance can be

controlled by opening and
closing the stomatal pores.

• Specialized cells – The

Guard cells
GUARD CELLS AND PLANT HOMEOSTASIS

• Guard cells are kidney-shaped with thick

inner walls and thin outer walls.
• When they become full of water (turgid)
the unevenness of the walls causes them
to bow outward and the stomate opens.
• When they lose water they become less
turgid and the stomate closes.
• Guard cells gain
and lose water by
osmosis.
 Stomatal guard cells
• Guard cells act as hydraulic valves
• Environmental factors are sensed by guard
cells
– Light intensity, temperature, relative
humidity, intercellular CO2 concentration
• Integrated into well defined responses
– Ion uptake in guard cell
– Biosynthesis of organic molecules in guard cells
• This alters the water potential in the guard cells
• Water enders them
• Swell up 40-100%
Relationship between water loss and
CO2 gain
• Effectiveness of controlling water loss and allowing CO2
uptake for photosynthesis is called the transpiration ratio.

• There is a large ratio of water efflux and CO2 influx

– Concentration ratio driving water loss is 50 larger than
that driving CO2 influx

– CO2 diffuses 1.6 times slower than water

• Due to CO2 being a larger molecule than water
– CO2 uptake must cross the plasma membrane, cytoplasm,
and chloroplast membrane. All add resistance
 water status of plants
• Cell division slows down
• Reduction of synthesis of:
– Cell wall
– Proteins
• Closure of stomata

• Due to accumulation of the

plant hormone Abscisic acid
– This hormone induces
closure of stomata during
water stress

• Naturally more of this

hormone in desert plants
 Plants and water
• Water is the essential medium of life.

• Land plants faced with dehydration by water loss to the

atmosphere

• There is a conflict between the need for water conservation

and the need for CO2 assimilation
– This determines much of the structure of land plants
– 1: extensive root system – to get water from soil
– 2: low resistance path way to get water to leaves – xylem
– 3: leaf cuticle – reduces evaporation
– 4: stomata – controls water loss and CO2 uptake
– 5: guard cells – control stomata.
 Photosynthesis
• One of the most important biochemical
process in plants.
– Let’s not forget cell wall biosynthesis and
adaptation during plant development, growth,
interaction with the environment, and disease
defense.
• Among the most expensive biochemical
processes in plant in terms of investment

• The biochemical process that has driven plant

form and function
 General overall reaction

6 CO2 + 6 H2O C6H12O6 + 6 O2

Carbon dioxide Water Carbohydrate
Oxygen
Photosynthetic organisms
use solar energy to synthesize
carbon compounds that cannot be formed without the
input of energy.

More specifically, light energy drives the synthesis of

carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water with the
generation of oxygen.
 Specialized or Modified
Leaves
• Drought-resistant leaves = thick,
sunken stomata, often reduced in size

• In American cacti and African

euphorbs, leaves are often reduced
such that they serve as spine to
discourage herbivory and reduce water
loss

• The stems serve as the primary

organ of photosynthesis.
 Specialized or Modified
Leaves
• In pine trees, the leaves are adapted to
living in a dry environment too.

• Water is locked up as ice during

significant portions of the year and
therefore not available to the plant;
pine leaves possess
– sunken stomata,
– thick cuticles
– needle-like leaves
– hypodermis, which is an extra
cells just underneath the
epidermis –
 Specialized Leaves
Figure 11.8 (1)
• Some plants obtain nitrogen from
digesting animals (mostly insects).

• The Pitcher plant has digestive

enzymes at the bottom of the trap

• This is a “passive trap” Insects fall

in and can not get out

• Pitcher plants have specialized

vascular network to tame the amino
acids from the digested insects to
the rest of the plant
 Specialized Leaves
Figure 11.12 (2)
• The Venus fly trap has an “active
trap”

• Good control over turgor pressure in

each plant cell.

• When the trap is sprung, ion

channels open and water moves
rapidly out of the cells.

• Turgor drops and the leaves slam

shut

• Digestive enzymes take over

The End.
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