Plant Anatomy Flashcards

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1
Q

Draw and label a diagram of the plant cell

A

book

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2
Q

What is the central vacuole?

A
  • The central vacuole is a large vacuole found inside of plant cells.
  • The central vacuole stores water and maintains turgor pressure in a plant cell. It also pushes the contents of the cell toward the cell membrane, which allows the plant cells to take in more light energy for making food through photosynthesis.
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3
Q

What is a chloroplast?

A
  • A plastid in green plant cells which contains chlorophyll and in which photosynthesis takes place.
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4
Q

What is the plasmodesmata?

A
  • A narrow thread of cytoplasm that passes through the cell walls of adjacent plant cells and allows communication between them.
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5
Q

What is the cell wall?

A
  • The main functions of the cell wall are to provide structure, support, and protection for the cell. The cell wall in plants is composed mainly of cellulose and contains three layers in many plants. The three layers are the middle lamella, primary cell wall, and secondary cell wall.
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6
Q

Why are cells important to plants?

A
  • Plants, like animals, are composed of cells, tissues and organs
  • A cell is the fundamental unit of life
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7
Q

What is a tissue?

A
  • A tissue is a group of cells consisting of one or more cell types that together perform a specialised function
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8
Q

What is an organ?

A
  • An organ consists of several types of tissues that together carry out particular functions
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9
Q

What does the basic morphology of plants reflect?

A
  • Basic morphology reflects evolution as organisms that draw resources from below ground and above ground
    » Take up water and minerals from below ground
    » Take up CO2 and light from above ground
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10
Q

What are the three basic organs of a plant and how are they organised?

A
- 3 basic organs:
» Roots
» Stems
» Leaves
- Organised into a root system and a shoot system (stems + leaves)
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11
Q

What are the main functions of the roots?

A
  • Functions:
    » Anchors plant
    » Absorbs minerals and water
    » Often stores carbohydrates and other reserves
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12
Q

What root system do Eudicots have?

A
  • Most eudicots and gymnosperms have taproot system:
    » A taproot, the primary root (1st root to emerge from germinating seed)
    » Lateral roots, or branch roots, that arise from taproot
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13
Q

What root system do monocots have?

A
  • Most monocots have fibrous root system:
    » Primary root dies early on
    » Many small roots arise from stems or leaves (“adventitious roots”)
    » Lateral roots that arise from adventitious roots
    » Very good at preventing soil erosion
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14
Q

How do roots work?

A
  • Most plants, absorption of water and minerals occurs near the tips of elongating roots, where vast numbers of tiny root hairs increase the surface area
    » Remember plants also form mycorrhizal associations with fungi, which dramatically increases surface area
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15
Q

What are different types of specialised roots?

A
  • Prop roots
  • Storage roots (e.g. potatoes)
  • Strangling roots
  • Buttress roots
  • Pneumatophores
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16
Q

What is a stem?

A
  • A stem is a plant organ bearing leaves and buds
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17
Q

What are the functions of a stem?

A

» Elongate and orient shoot → maximise photosynthesis in leaves
» Elevate reproductive structures → maximise dispersal
» (Green stems also perform a limited amount of photosynthesis)

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18
Q

What does the stem consist of?

A

» Alternating system of nodes, the points at which leaves are attached
» Internodes, the stem segments between nodes

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19
Q

What is a node?

A
  • The part of a plant stem from which one or more leaves emerge, often forming a slight swelling
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20
Q

Where does the most growth in a young shoot occur?

A
  • Most growth in a young shoot is concentrated in the shoot tip (apical bud)
    » Apical dominance helps to maintain dormancy in most axillary buds
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21
Q

What is an Axillary bud?

A

» Axillary bud: structure that has the potential to form a lateral shoot, or branch

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22
Q

Draw the Shoot system (stems and leaves)

A

book

23
Q

What are leaves?

A
  • Main photosynthetic organ of most vascular plants

» Intercept light, exchange gases with atmosphere, dissipate heat

24
Q

What are leaves composed of?

A
  • Generally consist of a flattened blade and a stalk (“petiole”), which joins the leaf to a node of the stem
25
Q

What are the two different types of leaves?

A
  • Leaves may be simple (undivided blade), or compound (leaf divided into leaflets), each may have own stalk
  • Or do something different
    » Eg, spines on cacti
26
Q

Draw a simple leaf diagram and a compound leaf diagram

A

book

27
Q

What is one of the main differences between Monocots and Eudicots?

A
  • Monocots and eudicots differ in arrangement of veins, the vascular tissue of leaves
    » Most monocots have parallel veins
    » Most eudicots have branching veins
28
Q

What are Deciduous plants and Evergreen plants?

A
  • Deciduous species drop all leaves at one time (remaining leafless for part of the year)
  • Evergreen species drop leaves at all times of year, not all at once
29
Q

What is a Rhizome?

A
  • A type of stem
  • The root starts as a horizontal shoot that grows just below the surface. Verticle shoots emerge from axillary buds on the rhizome
30
Q

What are stolons?

A
  • A type of Stem
  • Horizontal shoots that grow along the surface.
  • These “runners” enable a plant to reproduce asexually, as plantlets form at nodes along each runner.
31
Q

What are Tubers?

A
  • A type of stem
  • Tubers, such as potatoes, are enlarged ends of rhizomes or stolons specialised for storing food. The “eyes” of a potato are clusters of axillary buds that mark the nodes?
32
Q

What are tendrils?

A
  • A type of leaf
  • Tendrils are modified leaves like the ones in pea plants that cling to a support structure.
  • After it has lassoed a support, a tendril forms a coil that brings the plant closer to the support. Tendrils are modified leaves but some are modified stems such as in grape vines.
33
Q

What are spines.

A
  • A type of leaf
  • The spines of cacti, such as prickly pears are actually leaves; photosynthesis is carried out by the freshly green stems.
34
Q

What are storage leaves?

A
  • A type of leaf
  • Bulbs, such as onions, have a short underground stem and modified leaves that store food.
  • For example, an onion has layers, each layer is a storage leaf and the end of the onion where the roots are is the stem.
35
Q

What are carnivorous leaves?

A
  • A type of leaf
  • In areas of extremely low nutrients, members of the sundew genus (droseraspp) thrive. Leaves produce an exudate that attracts and ensnares insects.
  • The exudate contains enzymes which dissolve the insect
  • The ensuing nutrients are absorbed directly through the leaf surface.
36
Q

What are the three types of plant tissue?

A
  1. Dermal tissues – protective covering of plant
  2. Vascular tissues – components that conduct water, minerals, food
  3. Ground tissues – the bulk of the plant
37
Q

What is the surface of plants covered in?

A
  • Surface of plant covered in continuous layer of very tightly packed cells (epidermis)
    » Barrier against disease-causing pathogens
38
Q

What are some specialised characteristics in dermal tissue of plant organs?

A

» Roots: enhance water and mineral uptake
» Stem and leaves: protect against water loss
• Special waxy coating (cuticle) → watertight surface
» Leaves: increase gas exchange → stomata

39
Q

What is the stomata composed of and what does it do?

A

» Composed of 2 guard cells
» Opens to let CO2 in, O2 out
• When open can let H2O out (remember C3, C4 and CAM)
» Close when hot and dry to minimize H2O loss

40
Q

What is the purpose of vascular tissue?

A
  • Carries out long distance transport of materials between roots and shoots
41
Q

What are the two types of vascular tissue?

A

» Xylem transports water and dissolved minerals upward from roots into the shoots
» Phloem transports sugars (products of photosynthesis) from where they are made (leaves) to where they are needed or stored (roots, site of plant growth, eg developing leaves, fruits …)

42
Q

give summary of Xylem

A
  • Dead (functioning) cell
  • Water conductors (incl. dissolved minerals)
  • Thick multi-layered cell walls (strengthened with cellulose & lignin)
43
Q

What are the main cell types in Xylem?

A

» Tracheid (long cell with angled ends, perforations aligned with next cell)
» Angiosperms have vessel members (shorter cells join end end forming vessel to allow free water flow)

44
Q

Give a summary of Phloem

A
  • Transport of sugars
  • Phloem cells are alive, with pores on sidewalls to connect cytoplasm with neighbouring cells
  • Ends of phloem cells join with other cells to form sieve tube, named because each cell joins next in tube with cluster of pores in end of the plate (called sieve plate)
  • Transport sugars via active streaming of cytoplasm
  • Mature cell have no nucleus, but has association with companion cells (which controls activity)
45
Q

Draw diagram of sugar conducting cells of the phloem

A

book

46
Q

What is ground tissue?

A
  • Anything that isn’t vascular or dermal = ground tissue system
  • Not just filler: includes specialized cells for functions such as storage, photosynthesis, support, and short distance transport
47
Q

What are the three cells of ground tissue?

A

» Parenchyma
» Collenchyma
» Sclerenchyma

48
Q

Draw separated plant tissue diagram

A

book

49
Q

give summary of Parenchyma

A
  • A ground tissue cell
  • Provide main soft tissue of stems, leaves, roots and petals
  • Form basic structure for other cell types
  • Important in healing:
    » 1st cells to grow during wound repair
  • Parenchyma cells are alive, cease functioning once dead
50
Q

What are the functions of Parenchyma?

A
  • They are cells with thin walls, massed together, perform a number of metabolic functions
    » Photosynthesis within parenchyma cells in the leaf
    » Store starch within parenchyma cells in stem and roots
51
Q

Give summary of Collenchyma

A
  • A ground tissue cell
  • Help support young parts of the plant shoot
  • Elongated cells, with thicker cell wall, in strands or cylinders
  • Provide flexible support without restraining growth
    » Pliable but strong (cellulose and pectin)
  • Collenchyma cells are alive, lose strength when dead
52
Q

Give summary of Sclerenchyma

A
  • Ground tissue cell
  • Also function to support plant, but have a thick cell wall and rich in lignin → rigid (≠ collenchyma cells)
  • Cannot elongate; occur in parts of the plant that have stopped growing
  • Form sheets or strands in stems of plant, or scattered among other cells
  • Many are dead … thick cell wall remains as a “skeleton” to support the organ
53
Q

Draw a labeled diagram of the anatomy of a leaf

A

book