Plant Form and Function Flashcards
Roots
the plant part not having leaves or nodes
Tap Root System
long central shaft to store nutrients and to reach deeper water tables
Fibrous/Diffuse Root System
primary function is to support plant, secondary function is to access more shallow water supply
Tuber
sweet potato; swollen energy-storing roots
Adventitious (prop) root systems
root emerges from stem just above ground to help support plants in shallow soils
seen in the tropics
snorkel roots
pneumatophores
emerge below ground but rise above ground to obtain oxygen fo respiration within the root. Usually present in species that have roots in water-saturated soil or standing in water.
Roots general functions
- provides moisture and inorganic ingredients to plant
- attaches plant to ground to let them reach for radiant energy above ground or to climb/attach to verticle surfaces for the same purpose (as seen in Ivy)
- Long term starch storage (ex carrots and potatos)
- Access oxygen (ex pheumatophores on mangroves)
stems/trunks/shoot
axial
central column w/ spire shape for strength and shedding snow (spruce)
palm trunks are bare to reduce the lateral wind pressure in tropical storms
Dendritic
Sub-branching for greater photorespiration
Buttressed Trunk
for greater support in thin tropical soils
Stems/Trunks/Shoot Functions
- Transport Nutrients/Water between leaves and roots
- Access to available light above surrounding structures
- Asexual reproduction- lateral stem runners above ground (stolons) and below ground (rhizomes)
- Photosynthesis in arid-dwelling plants, ex. cactus
- Water storage- cactus and certain vines
- Protection-thorns are modified stems
- Food storage- Underground stems: white potato, yams
Types of Leaves
simple, compound, doubly compounded, and needles
needles function
give maximum water conservation and reduced (but year round) photosynthesis
Leaves Functions
- Photosynthesis- large doubly compounded leaves like ferns w many spaces to avoid rain damage
- Water collectors w leaves angled down toward central stem and axil collection basil
- attachment to other vegetation for climbing- pea leaf tendrils
- defense- most cactus spines are modified leaves
- water storage- aloe vera, succulent plants
- Obtaining supplementary nitrogen- carnivorous plants
secondary cell wall
specialized chemical components corresponding w the cells specialized function
ex. waxy substances for the cuticle; lignin in xylem tissue for strength
Meristematic Cells
-Undifferentiated
-Rapidly dividing
-Simple primary cell wall that comprise the layers of active plant growth; are thin and flexible to enable the daughter cells to elongate
one daughter cell remains undifferentiated and rapidly dividing, the other usually becomes slightly “differentiated”-mainly in being less mitotically active and more ready to produce functionally differentiated cells
Areas of active plant growth
-apical (stem and root tips
-lateral meristems (cambium)
cambium is a tissue layer that produces layers of xylem and phloem in woody plants and encourages the growth of roots and stems
Parenchyma cells
-primary cell wall only; thin and flexible
-can either revert back to meristematic tissue, or form dermal tissue, ground tissue (leaf mesophyll cells, root cortex cells), and repair tissue
-less actively dividing than meri. cells
-remain alive
-make up the phloem cells
most common mature cells in the plant, close desc. of meristematic cells
dermal tissue
outer, single cell layer giving rise to root hairs, trichomes, leaf guard cells, and waxy cuticle
totipotent cell
a cell can be considered totipotent if it able to autonomously develop into a whole plant via embryogenesis
companion cell
large elongated cells of phloem that maintain the pressure gradient in the sieve tube elements
found only in angiosperms, a type of parenchyma cell
sieve-tube cells
are almost always ajacent to companion cells, formed from a series of elongated cells; the conducting element of phloem
Collenchyma cells
-Longer, thicker primary cell walls w somewhat more cellulose (no secondary wall)
-Function primarily in support (ex in vascular bundles)
-Can still stretch and elongate (ex in elongation zones near apical meristems)
much less abundant in the plant
seen in celeray stalks and most vascular bundles
Collenchyma cells
-Longer, thicker primary cell walls w somewhat more cellulose (no secondary wall)
-Function primarily in support (ex in vascular bundles)
-Can still stretch and elongate (ex in elongation zones near apical meristems)
much less abundant in the plant
seen in celery stalks and most vascular bundles
Sclerenchya cells
-secondary cell wall impregnated w lignin
-do not permit stretching and elongation
-found in non-growth areas of the tree
-lose their cytoplasm and die when mature, leaving just the cell wall material
make up the xylem
make up tracheid cells, vessel elements, elongated fibers, and sclerid cells