Transport in Plants Flashcards
What do the xylem and phloem transport? Which way do they transport these substances?
Xylem: water up the plant
Phloem: sugars and other assimilates up and down the plant
How are the xylem and phloem found in plants?
Together in vascular bundles, also contain other tissue types to give bundle strength and plant support
Where is the vascular bundle found in a root and what does it look like?
at centre of young root, large central core of xylem in X shape, phloem is found between the arms of the X
What is the sheath of cells around the vascular bundle called and what does it do?
endodermis, gets water into xylem vessels
What is inside the endodermis?
Layer of meristem cells (cells that can divide) called the pericycle
Where is the vascular bundle found in the stem?
Near the outer edge of the stem, non-woody plants the bundles are separate, in woody plants the bundles are separate in young stems but become continuous in older stems
How is the vascular bundle arranged under bark and how is this beneficial efficient?
complete ring of vascular tissue under bark, provides strength and flexibility to withstand being forces
What is between the xylem and phloem within the vascular bundle?
Layer of cambium: meristem cells which divide to produce new xylem and phloem
What do vascular bundles form in a leaf?
The midrib and veins
What are the 2 main groups of flowering plants?
dicotyledons and monocotyledons (based on number of first seed leaves - cotyledons - they have)
What is the arrangement of veins in a dicotyledon leaf?
Branching network of veins, which get smaller as they spread away from the midrib - the xylem is on top of the phloem in each vein
What cells make up phloem tissue?
sieve tube elements and companion cells
How are cells arranged in the xylem?
hollow columns of dead cells end to end, reinforced with lignin, living parenchyma cells
How do lignin thickenings arranged themselves in xylem vessel cell wall?
spiral, annular (rings), reticulate (network of broken rings)
What are the areas of the xylem vessel called where lignification is not complete? What is the purpose of these areas?
pits/bordered pits, allow water to leave one vessel and pass into an adjacent one, or pass into the living parts of the plant
What are the 4 ways that the xylem is adapted for its function?
made from dead cells to form continuous column, tubes narrow so water column doesn’t break and capillary action is effective, pits allow sideways movement, lignin allows xylem to stretch with growth and stem to bend
Why is the flow of water in the xylem not impeded?
no end walls or cell contents, no nucleus or cytoplasm, lignin thickening prevents the walls from collapsing
What are sieve tubes?
not true cells: little cytoplasm, no nucleus, lined end to end, cross walls at intervals with lots of pores so sap can flow (sieve plates) sieve tubes thin walls and 5/6 sided
What are companion cells?
in between sieve tubes, large nucleus, dense cytoplasm, numerous mitochondria, carry out metabolic processes needed by the sieves, cytoplasm of the 2 cells are linked by plasmodesmata