Chapter 35 - Plant Structure, Growth, and Development

Question 1

tissue

Answer 1

An integrated group of cells with a common structure, function, or both.

Question 2

organ

Answer 2

A specialized center of body function composed of several different types of tissues.

Question 3

root system

Answer 3

All of a plant’s roots, which anchor it in the soil, absorb and transport minerals and water, and store food.

Question 4

shoot system

Answer 4

The aerial portion of a plant body, consisting of stems, leaves, and (in angiosperms) flowers.

Question 5

root

Answer 5

An organ in vascular plants that anchors the plant and enables it to absorb water and minerals from the soil.

Question 6

taproot

Answer 6

A main vertical root that develops from an embryonic root and gives rise to lateral (branch) roots.

Question 7

lateral root

Answer 7

A root that arises from the pericycle of an established root.

Question 8

root hair

Answer 8

A tiny extension of a root epidermal cell, growing just behind the root tip and increasing surface area for absorption of water and minerals.

Question 9

stem

Answer 9

A vascular plant organ consisting of an alternating system of nodes and internodes that support the leaves and reproductive structures.

Question 10

node

Answer 10

A point along the stem of a plant at which leaves are attached.

Question 11

internode

Answer 11

A segment of a plant stem between the points where leaves are attached.

Question 12

axillary bud

Answer 12

A structure that has the potential to form a lateral shoot, or branch. The bud appears in the angle formed between a leaf and a stem.

Question 13

apical bud

Answer 13

A bud at the tip of a plant stem; also called a terminal bud.

Question 14

apical dominance

Answer 14

Tendency for growth to be concentrated at the tip of a plant shoot, because the apical bud partially inhibits axillary bud growth.

Question 15

leaf

Answer 15

The main photosynthetic organ of vascular plants.

Question 16

blade

Answer 16

(1) A leaflike structure of a seaweed that provides most of the surface area for photosynthesis. (2) The flattened portion of a typical leaf.

Question 17

petiole

Answer 17

The stalk of a leaf, which joins the leaf to a node of the stem.

Question 18

vein

Answer 18

(1) In animals, a vessel that carries blood toward the heart. (2) In plants, a vascular bundle in a leaf.

Question 19

tissue system

Answer 19

One or more tissues organized into a functional unit connecting the organs of a plant.

Question 20

dermal tissue system

Answer 20

The outer protective covering of plants.

Question 21

epidermis

Answer 21

(1) The dermal tissue system of non-woody plants, usually consisting of a single layer of tightly packed cells. (2) The outermost layer of cells in an animal.

Question 22

cuticle

Answer 22

(1) A waxy covering on the surface of stems and leaves that prevents desiccation in terrestrial plants. (2) The exoskeleton of an arthropod, consisting of layers of protein and chitin that are variously modified for different functions. (3) A tough coat that covers the body of a nematode.

Question 23

periderm

Answer 23

The protective coat that replaces the epidermis in woody plants during secondary growth, formed of the cork and cork cambium.

Question 24

vascular tissue system

Answer 24

A transport system formed by xylem and phloem throughout a vascular plant. Xylem transports water and minerals; phloem transports sugars, the products of photosynthesis.

Question 25

xylem

Answer 25

Vascular plant tissue consisting mainly of tubular dead cells that conduct most of the water and minerals upward from the roots to the rest of the plant.

Question 26

phloem

Answer 26

Vascular plant tissue consisting of living cells arranged into elongated tubes that transport sugar and other organic nutrients throughout the plant.

Question 27

stele

Answer 27

The vascular tissue of a stem or root.

Question 28

ground tissue system

Answer 28

Plant tissues that are neither vascular nor dermal, fulfilling a variety of functions, such as storage, photosynthesis, and support.

Question 29

pith

Answer 29

Ground tissue that is internal to the vascular tissue in a stem; in many monocot roots, parenchyma cells that form the central core of the vascular cylinder.

Question 30

cortex

Answer 30

(1) The outer region of cytoplasm in a eukaryotic cell, lying just under the plasma membrane, that has a more gel-like consistency than the inner regions due to the presence of multiple microfilaments. (2) In plants, ground tissue that is between the vascular tissue and dermal tissue in a root or eudicot stem.