GENERAL BOTANY
Module 2: Plant Structure, Growth and o Terminal bud – located
Development at tip of stems or
branches.
Tissues and Primary Growth of Stems
o Axillary bud – gives rise
Function of Stems to branches.
Apical Dominance – prevention
Stems support leaves and branches. of branch formation by terminal
Stems transport water and solutes bud
between roots and leaves.
Stems in some plants are
photosynthetic.
Stems may store materials necessary
for life (e.g., waters, starch, sugar).
In some plants, stems have become
adapted for specialized functions.
The Stem
May be vegetative (leaf bearing)
or reproductive (flower bearing).
Node – area of stem where leaf is
born
Internodes – stem area between
nodes
Buds – stem elongation.
Embryotic tissue of leaves and Xylem
stem (not flower bud). o Water and mineral travel up
to other plant parts
GENERAL BOTANY
Phloem Modified shoots with diverse
o Manufactured food travels functions have evolved in many
down to other plant parts plants.
Cambium o These shoots, which include
o Separates xylem and phloem stolons, rhizomes, tubers,
and bulbs, are often
mistaken for roots
Plant Tissues Stolons, such as the “runners” of
strawberry plants, grow on the
Dermal Tissue System
surface and enable a plant to colonize
o Outer covering
large areas asexually when a parent
o Protection
plant fragments into many smaller
Vascular Tissue System offspring.
o “Vessels throughout plant
Rhizomes, like those of ginger, are
o Transport materials horizontal stems that grow
Ground Tissue System underground.
o “Body” of plant Tubers, including potatoes, are the
o Photosynthesis: storage: swollen ends of rhizomes specialized
support for food storage.
Bulb, such as onions, are vertical,
underground shoots consisting mostly
of the swollen bases leaves that store
food.
Ground Tissue
Some major types of plant cells
o Parenchyma
o Collenchyma
o Sclerenchyma
Neither dermal nor vascular
Pith – ground tissue internal to the
vascular tissue
Cortex – ground tissue external to the
vascular tissue
Includes cells specialized for storage,
photosynthesis, and support.
Parenchyma
Structure and Development Characteristics
Stems have all three types of plant Least specialized cell type
tissue Only thin primary cell wall is present
Grow by division at meristems Possess large central vacuole
o Develop into leaves, other
Generally alive at functional maturity
shoots, and even flowers Functions
Leaves may be arranged in one of
three ways Make up most of the ground tissues
Many plants have modified stems of the plant
GENERAL BOTANY
Storage Sclerenchyma
Photosynthesis
Characteristics
Can help repair and replace damaged
organs by proliferation and Have secondary cell walls
specialization into other cells strengthened by lignin
Often are dead at functional maturity
Two forms: fibers and sclereids
Functions
Rigid cells providing support and
strength to tissues
Fibers are long, slender, and usually
occur in groups
o Those from hemp fibers are
used for making rope and
those from flax for weaving
into linen
Collenchyma
Characteristics
Possess thicker primary cell walls
than the parenchyma
No secondary cell wall present
Generally alive at functional maturity
Functions
Provide support without restraining Sclereids are shorter the fibers and
growth irregular in shape
o Impart the hardness to
nutshells and seed coats and
the gritty texture to pear
fruits
Vascular Tissue
GENERAL BOTANY
Runs continuous throughout the plant Phloem
Transport materials between roots and o The main components of
shoots phloem are sieve elements
o Xylem transport water and and companion cells.
dissolved minerals upward o Sieve elements have no
from roots into the shoots nucleus and only a sparse
(water the xylem) collection of other
o Phloem transports food from organelles. Companion cell
the leaves to the roots and to provides energy
non-photosynthetic parts of o So-named because end walls
the shoot system (feed the are perforated - allows
phloem) cytoplasmic connections
between vertically-stacked
Overview of Plant Structure cells .
Xylem o Conducts sugars and amino
o Main water conducting acids - from the leaves, to
tissue of vascular plants. the rest of the plant
o Arise from individual
cylindrical cells oriented end
to end.
o At maturity the end walls of
these cells dissolve away,
and the cytoplasmic contents
die.
o The result is the xylem
vessel, a continuous
nonliving duct.
o carry water and some
dissolved solutes, such as
inorganic ions, up the plant.
Phloem Transport Requires Specialized Living
Cells
GENERAL BOTANY
Sieve tubes elements join to form Monocot
continuous tube
Pores in sieve plate between sieve
tube elements are open channels for
transport
Each sieve tube element is associated
with one or more companion cells.
Many plasmodesmata penetrate walls
between sieve tube elements and
companion cells
Close relationship, have a ready
exchange of solutes between the two
cells.
Dicot
Companion cells
Role in transport of photosynthesis
products from producing cells in
mature leaves to sieve plates of the
small vein of the leaf.
Synthesis of the various proteins used
in the phloem.
Contain many, many mitochondria
for cellular respiration to provide the
cellular energy required for active
transport.
There are three types
o Ordinary companion cells
o Transfer cells
o Intermediary cells
Plant Classification
GENERAL BOTANY
Primary Growth
Apical Meristems: Mitotic cells at
“tips” of roots / stems
o Increased length
o Specialized structures (e.g.
fruits)
Secondary Growth
Dermal Tissue System Lateral Meristems: Mitotic cells
“hips” of plant
Outer covering Responsible for increases in stem/root
Protection diameter
o Indeterminate: Grow
Vascular Tissue System
throughout life
“Vessels” throughout plant o Growth at “tips” (length) and
Transport materials at “hips” (girth)
Ground Tissue System Growth Patterns
“Body” of plant Meristems – dividing cells
Photosynthesis; storage; support Differential Cells – cells specialized
in structure and role
Vasculature o Form stable, permanent part
In most monocot stems, the vascular of plant
bundles are scattered throughout the Meristems
ground tissue, rather than forming a
ring as with Dicots The tissue in most plants consisting
of undifferentiated cells (meristematic
cells), found in zones of the plant
where growth can take place.
Meristematic cells are analogous in
function to stem cells in animals, are
incompletely or not differentiated,
and are capable of continued cellular
division.
Furthermore, the cells are small, and
Plant Stem Growth protoplasm fills the cell completely.
The vacuoles are extremely small.
Vegetative development is based on The cytoplasm does not contain
meristems, in which cell division chloroplasts although they are present
occurs throughout life, producing in rudimentary form (proplastids).
cells that go on to differentiate.
Meristematic cells are packed closely
When a meristem is converted from together without intercellular cavities
vegetative to reproductive o Two lateral meristems are
development, regulatory transcription
vascular cambium and cork
factors are activated that control the
cambium
identity and position of floral organs.
Stem (Secondary Growth)
GENERAL BOTANY
Thicker, stronger stems Together, the secondary vascular
Vascular Cambium: between primary tissues (produced by the vascular
xylem and phloem cambium) and periderm (formed by
Produces inside stem: the cork cambium) makes up the
o Secondary xylem: moves secondary plant body.
H2O, inward Vascular cambia are found in dicots
o Secondary phloem: moves and gymnosperms but not monocots,
sugars, outward which usually lack secondary growth.
In wood, the vascular cambium is the
Vascular Cambium obvious line separating the bark and
wood.
Is a lateral meristem in the vascular
tissue of plants.
It is a cylinder of unspecialized
meristematic cells that divide to give Sapwood = Young xylem, water
rise to cells that further divide, Heartwood = Old xylem, support
differentiate and specialize to form
the secondary vascular tissues. Seasonal Growth = annual rings
The vascular cambium is the source
of both the secondary xylem Secondary phloem = grows outward
(inwards, towards the pith) older phloem crushed
And the secondary phloem
(outwards)
And is located between these tissues Leaf Morphology
in the stem and root.
Arrangement (look for bud)
Alternate
The vascular cambium is a type of meristem - o 1 leaf for each node
tissue consisting of embryonic (incompletely
differentiated) cells from which other (more
differentiated) plant tissues originate.
Primary meristems are the apical meristems on
root tips and shoot tips.
Production of Secondary Xylem and Phloem
The accumulation of this tissue over
the years accounts for most of the
increase in diameter of a woody plant.
Secondary xylem forms to the interior
and secondary phloem to the exterior
of the vascular cambium.
Cork Cambium
Opposite
Another lateral meristem is the cork o 2 leaves for each node
cambium, which produces cork, part
of the bark.
GENERAL BOTANY
Subopposite
o 2 leaves for each node
Angiosperm
o Compound
o Bud in leaf axil of more than
one leaflet
Whorled
o 3 or more leaves for each
node
Angiosperm leaf types
Leaf Types
Angiosperm
o Simple
o Bud in leaf axil of single leaf
GENERAL BOTANY
Gymnosperm
o Scale-like
o Overlaps like shingles or fish
scales
o Soft to touch
Gymnosperm
o Needle-like
o Combined in fascicles of 1,
2, 3, 4, or 5 needles
Gymnosperm
o Gymnosperm
o Needle-like
o Prickly to touch
GENERAL BOTANY
Gymnosperm Cordate
o Singly or in clusters on stem
Leaf Shapes
Ovate
Lanceolate
Obovate
GENERAL BOTANY
Linear Sinuate
Lobed
Deltoid
Crenate
Entire
Serrate