Plant Structure and Function

The "Typical" Plant Body

The Root System

Underground (usually)

Anchor the plant in the soil

Absorb water and nutrients

Conduct water and nutrients

Food Storage

The Shoot System

Above ground (usually)

Elevates the plant above the

soil

Many functions including:

o photosynthesis
o reproduction &
dispersal
o food and water
conduction

Note: the shoot system

includes the leaves and the
reproductive organs, although
these will be covered in more
detail separately

Before we look at plant anatomy in detail, I want to caution you that we will be
looking almost exclusively at Angiosperms, also know as flowering plants.
Angiosperms are by far the most diverse group of plants known (over 275,000 named
species and thought to be at least that many more unknown to science).
Within the Angiosperms, there are two plant groups, the Monocots and the Dicots.
The distinction between these two groups is not always clear, but some general trends
are outlined below:

Organization of Plants and Animals - Cells, Tissues, Organs,

Organ Systems
Plant and animals have a hierarchy of cellular architecture
At the lowest level are cells
o Example: Parenchyma, Sclerenchyma, vessel elements
Cells are organized together to form tissues
o Example: xylem, phloem
Tissues are organized together to form organs (two or more tissues performing
specific functions)
o Example: Leaves, stamens
Organs are organized together to form organ systems
o Example: Flowers, shoots

Cell Types in the Plant Body

Parenchyma Cells
Least specialized plant cells

 Thin and somewhat flexible cell walls

Living at maturity
Carry on most of the plant's metabolic functions
Generally have a large central vacuole
Most parenchyma cells have the ability to differentiate into other cell types
under special conditions
o During repair and replacement of organs after injury
Collenchyma Cells
Thicker primary cells walls (usually with uneven thickness)
Living at maturity
Role in support of herbaceous plants
o Example - the "strings" of celery
Sclerenchyma Cells
Thick secondary cell walls
Dead at functional maturity
Cannot increase in length - occur in parts of the plant which have quit growing
in length
Two types - fibers and schlerids
o Fibers - long, slender cells with a more or less regular secondary cell
wall
Example - hemp fibers for making rope
o Sclerids - shorter cells with an irregular shape

 Example - stone cells in pears and hard nut and seed shells

Some Tissues in the Plant Body

Xylem
Involved in conduct of water and ions in the plant
Typically composed of non-living conductive cells and living parenchyma cells
o Conductive cells have thick secondary cell walls, often deposited
unevenly in a coil-like pattern so that they may stretch
o Dead at functional maturity
o Two types of conductive cells- tracheids and vessels
Tracheids - long, slender cells connected to each other by pits.
Found in all vascular plants
Vessels - shorter, larger diameter cells with completely perforated
cell wall ends. Found only in Angiosperms
Xylem Parenchyma arranged in rays
Xylem parenchyma are also distributed throughout the tracheids and vessel
elements
Phloem
Involved in transport of sucrose, other organic compounds, and some ions
Conductive cells living at functional maturity
o Protoplast may lack organelles and nucleus, though
Endwalls connect to each other via sieve-plates
Two types of conductive cells in the phloem - sieve-tube
members and companion cells

o Sieve-tube members - actual conduit for sucrose transport

o Companion cells - has a nucleus that may also control the sieve-tube
element and may aid in sucrose loading
Sclerenchyma tissue is often associated with phloem
Dermal Tissue
Generally a single layer of cells
The "skin" of the plant
Primarily parenchyma cells
Main role is protection of the plant
Ground Tissue
Makes up the bulk of the plant
Predominately parenchyma, but collenchyma and schlerenchyma cells are
found
Diverse functions including photosynthesis, storage, and support
Pretty much, if you look at something and it isn't dermal tissue nor is it vascular
tissue, it is ground tissue

Plant Growth
Plant growth is a phenomenon different from animal growth.
Animas exhibit a growth pattern called determinate growth.
After fertilization, the zygote cells are rapidly dividing, undifferentiated cells
However, after a certain critical stage, the cells differentiate and form tissues.
o From this point onward, their developmental fate is sealed
o There are exceptions to this (i.e. stem cells in bone marrow)

 Most animals have a pre-programmed body plan (i.e. barring mutation or

accident, most humans have 10 fingers and toes, two eyes, a heart with four
chambers, etc..)
Most animals quit growing after a certain age
Plants, however, exhibit a growth pattern called indeterminate growth
The plant retains areas where rapidly dividing, undifferentiated cells remain all
through the life of the plant
These areas are called meristems
o Meristematic tissue continues to rapidly divide producing
undifferentiated cells which may eventually differentiate to form the
tissue and cell types discussed above
Plants do not have a pre-programmed body plan
o There are constants like leaf shape and branching patters (opposite,
alternate, etc.) but you can never predict where a new branch will come
about on a tree...
Plants continue to grow throughout their life
Meristems
The pattern of plant growth depends upon the location of meristems
Apical meristems
located at the tips of roots and shoots
supply cells for the plant to increase in length (grow up for shoots and down for
roots)
o growth in this direction is known as primary growth
o primary growth found in herbaceous and woody plants
o primary growth found in monocots and dicots

Lateral meristems
located near the periphery of the plant, usually in a cylinder
supply cells for the plant to increase in girth
o growth in this direction is known as secondary growth
o found in all woody and some herbaceous plants
o lateral meristems and secondary growth found only in dicots
Primary Growth in the Root
Root Cap
o Thimble-like covering which protects the delicate apical meristem
o Produced from cells derived from the root apical meristem
o Secretes polysaccharide slime that lubricates the soil
o Constantly sloughed off and replaced
Apical Meristem
o Region of rapid cell division of undifferentiated cells
o Most cell division is directed away from the root cap
Quiescent Center
o Populations of cells in apical meristem which reproduce much more
slowly than other meristematic cells
o Resistant to radiation and chemical damage
o Possibly a reserve which can be called into action if the apical meristem
becomes damaged

 The Zone of Cell Division - Primary Meristems

o Three areas just above the apical meristem that continue to divide for
some time
o Protoderm - outermost primary meristem - produces cells which will
become dermal tissue
o Ground meristem - central primary meristem - produces cells which
will become ground tissue
o Procambium - innermost primary meristem - produces cells which will
become vascular tissue
The Zone of Elongation
o Cells elongate up to ten times their original length
o This growth pushes the root further downward into the soil
The Zone of Maturation
o Region of the root where completely functional cells are found
Root Anatomy - Dicot Roots
Epidermis
Dermal tissue
Protection of the root
Cortex
Ground tissue
Storage of photosynthetic products
Active in the uptake of water and minerals

Endodermis
cylinder once cell thick that forms a boundary between the cortex and the stele
contains the casparian strip, which will be explained later when we discuss
water uptake
Pericycle
found just inside of the endodermis
may become meristematic
responsible for the formation of lateral roots
Vascular Tissue
Xylem and Phloem
Forms an X-shaped pattern in very center of root
Root Anatomy - Monocot Roots
Epidermis
Dermal tissue
Protection of the root
Cortex
Ground tissue
Storage of photosynthetic products
Active in the uptake of water and minerals
Endodermis
cylinder once cell thick that forms a boundary between the cortex and the stele

 even more distinct than dicot counterpart

contains the casparian strip, which will be explained later when we discuss
water uptake
Pericycle
monocot roots rarely branch, but can, and this branch will originate from the
pericycle
Vascular Tissue
Xylem and Phloem
Forms a ring near center of plant
Pith
Center most region of root
Primary Growth of Shoots
Apical Meristem
Dome-shaped mass of dividing cells at tip of terminal bud
Gives rise to three primary mersitems: protoderm, ground meristem, and
procambium just as root apical meristem
Leaves arise as leaf primordia on the flanks of apical meristem
Axillary Meristems
Regions of meristematic tissue left behind from apical meristem
Dormant, but have the ability to become activated and form a branch (i.e.
becomes the branch's apical meristem)
o Note difference between how shoots forms a branch versus how a root
forms a branch

o This is do to the position of the vascular tissue in a root vs. the vascular
tissue in a shoot
Subtended by a leaf
Secondary Growth
Lateral Meristems add girth by producing secondary vascular tissue and periderm
Secondary Plant Body - tissue produced mersitems involved in secondary
growth
Vascular Cambium - secondary growth meristem which produces xylem and
phloem
Cork Cambium - secondary growth meristem which produces cork, a tough
substance that replaces the epidermis
Vascular Cambium
Secondary growth begins with the initiation of the vascular cambium, a cylinder of
meristematic tissue that produces additional xylic and phloic tissues. The cells that
eventually form the vascular cambium come from two sources, the procambium in the
vascular bundles and the interfascicular parenchyma cells between vascular bundles.
The diagram below shows the positions of these two populations of cells in a stem
with only primary growth.

The two populations of dividing cells unite to form a continuous ring of dividing cells,
the vascular cambium.

If we look closely at the cells of the vascular cambium we see two patterns of
division. Initial cells can undergo multiplicative divisions (red line in the following
diagram) or they can undergo additive divisions (blue line). Multiplicative divisions
produce more initial cells and result in the increased circumference of the vascular
cambium. Of the two cells produced from an additive division one is retained as an
initial cell that will divide again, and the other will become a phloem mother cell or a
xylem mother cell. These mother cells will differentiate into their respective cell
types.

Secondary Growth in Dicots - Herbaceous and Woody

Both herbaceous and woody dicots exhibit secondary growth.
In herbaceous dicots, secondary xylem and phloem are in a single ring of
discrete bundles which form
In woody dicots, the secondary xylem forms a continuous cylinder
The Cork Cambium and the Production of Periderm
During secondary growth, the epidermis produced by primary growth splits and falls
off the stem
It is replaced by a new protective tissues produced by the cork cambium
A cylinder meristematic tissue that initially forms from the outer cortex of the
stem
Cork cambium produces cork cells, which form exterior to the cork cambium

 As cork cells mature, they secrete suberin (a waxy substance) in their cell walls
and then die
Cork cells function as a barrier to protect the stem from physical damage and
from pathogens
The cork cambium + the cork are known as the periderm
The "bark" of the tree consists of the periderm + the phloem
What would happen if you removed a large ring of bark from a tree?
Unlike the vascular cambium which can grow in diameter via multiplicative growth,
the cork cambium is fixed in size.
After a few weeks, the cork cambium loses meristematic ability
Expansion splits the original periderm
New cork cambium then forms deeper in the cortex of the stem
Eventually no more cortex remains, so the cork cambium then forms from
parenchyma cells of the secondary xylem
The Monocot Stem - A Stem Lacking Secondary Growth
Monocot stems differ from dicot stems in that they lack secondary growth
No vascular cambium nor cork cambium
Stems usually uniform in diameter
Scattered vascular bundles (not in a ring like dicot stems)