Introduction to Plant Biology Early to Modern Botanical Studies

Science of Botany • Theophrastus

• branch of Biology – Mere description and

identification of plants
• scientific study of plants
– Father of Botany
• also known as Phytology, Plant science,
or Plant biology – Pedanios Dioscorides

• covers a very wide range of scientific – Father of medical botany

disciplines of plants
– Worked on herbal plants and
o Structure written De Materia Medica
which became the basis of
o Growth and reproduction herbal and pharmaceutical
o Metabolism writings

o Development • Johannes von Helmont

o Chemical properties – measured uptake of water in

trees
o Evolutionary relationships
between different groups • Stephen Hales

As with other life forms, it can be studied – published his experiments

through dealing with the nutrition and
respiration of plants in a work
• molecular entitled Vegetable Staticks.

• genetic • Joseph Priestley

• biochemical level – laid the foundation for the

– through organelles, cells,
tissues, organs, individuals,
plant populations, and
communities of plants
chemical analysis of
plant metabolism.
• Carolus Linnaeus

Please watch the video on - Father of Taxonomy

The Life of Plants -devised system for naming,
• Prepare crosswise ranking, and classifying organisms

• Make a short video analysis in 250 Plants are very essential to study
words based on the video because:
 • Oxygen production – Biology and evolution of fossil
plants
• Foods and beverages
• ECOLOGY
• Medicines
– relationships between plants
• Aesthetics and Home Gardening and the world in which they
• Changes global atmosphere live, both individually and in
communities.
Some common facts about plants
• MOLECULAR BIOLOGY - structure and
• 262,000 species of plants function of biological macromolecules,
including biochemical and molecular
– 90% are flowering plants
aspects of genetics.
– Plants are either woody or
• SYSTEMATICS - evolutionary history
herbaceous
and relationships among plants.
• Plants can be annuals, biennials, or
HORTICULTURE - the production of
perennials
ornamental plants and fruit and vegetable
crops.
Subdivisions of Botany
ECONOMIC BOTANY - plants with
Botany has branched out into many fields like
commercial importance.
ANATOMY and MORPHOLOGY

– Microscopic/macroscopic plant
ETHNOBOTANY – plants and its relation to
structures
people
BIOCHEMISTRY
PLANT PATHOLOGY -diseases of plants.
chemical aspects of plant life processes.
BIOTECHNOLOGY - using biological
Includes the chemical products of plants
organisms to produce useful products.
(PHYTOCHEMISTRY).
BREEDING -development of better types of
BIOPHYSICS
plants.
- application of physics to plant life processes.
A botanist is mainly concerned with:
• PHYSIOLOGY
• Taxonomy
– functions and vital processes of
• Structure and morphology
plants.
• Physiology
• PALEOBOTANY
Scientific Method
• Card sorting pair activity
Origin of Life
Stages in the Evolution of Life
. 4.6 BYA – earth formation
2. volcanic activity
3. abiogenetic synthesis of simple carbon
monomers
4. “primordial soup”
5. protenoid microsphere (3.8 BYA)
6. osmoheterotrophs (3.7 BYA)
7. prokaryotic cells (3 BYA)
8. photosynthetic variants (2 BYA)
9. sexually reproducing eukaryotic
organisms (1 BYA)
A brief history of the earth…
• Formed 4.6 bya
• First life: 3.8 bya
• Why was there no life during the gap?
• How did life start?
First stirrings of “life”…
• Oparin-Haldane (“Prebiotic/Primordial
Soup”) Hypothesis
• Reducing gasses + heat and electricity =
organic molecules (amino acids, sugars,
fatty acids, etc.)
• Molecules settled in the water or on
rock or clay surfaces
• What is/are the evidence/s for this?
• Alternative:
– Iron-Sulfur World Hypothesis:
organic molecules produced at
hydrothermal vents
Not quite living yet…
• Organic molecules are precursors of
life, but…
• …they lacked a replication machinery
and evolutionary tendencies.
• Macromolecules: produced through
polymerization
• Protobionts (“Proto-cells”): formed
from macromolecules; began to use
enzymes for replication, transcription,
and translation
• But how can have proteins been first
produced without a protein enzyme?
• Primary enzyme: RNA
The first living forms…
• Primary heterotrophs (prokaryotes)
• Evolution of ability to produce own
food (photosynthesis)
autotrophs
• Contribution of autotrophs: oxygen in
the atmosphere
The rise of eukaryotes (2.2 bya)…
• Eukaryotes: organisms with cells
equipped with organelles and a
membrane-bound nucleus
• Serial Endosymbiosis Theory
• What is/are the evidence/s for this?
CHEMOSYNTHETIC THEORY OF LIFE
The first organisms were products of
chemical evolution in 4 stages
Stage 1.
Abiotic synthesis (abiogenesis) &
accumulation of small organic molecules or
monomers
(eg. amino acids, nucleotides)
1920s AI Oparin (Russian biochemist)
JBS Haldane (English
geneticist)
* postulated that conditions of primeval
earth (plus energy) favored chemical
reactions that synthesized compounds from
inorganic precursors present in early
atmosphere & seas
* early atmosphere: reducing:
contained ammonia, methane, hydrogen,
water & carbon dioxide
Stage 2:
Polymerization of monomers, proteins &
nucleic acids (droplet stage)
• Sidney Fox (biochemist, Univ. of Miami)
proposed the 1st proteins called
proteinoids
• Formed from surfaces of silicate clays
• Many + and – charges on the surfaces
that facilitated process of
polymerization
• Iron & zinc served as metal catalysts.
Stage 3
Aggregation of abiotically produced
molecules into droplets (protobionts/
coacervates)
• Protenoids when mixed in cool water
self assemble into droplets
(microspheres)
• Some aggregates formed 1st protocells
• Early oceans contain billions of
molecules; some with amino acids that
catalyzed growth promoting reactions
& droplets
Cell like properties of coacervates (spheres
1-2 um in diameter)
• Form outer boundary resembling
biological membrane
• Grow by accumulating more lipid
subunits from surrounding medium
• Form budlike projections & divide by
pinching in two (like fission in bacteria)
• Contain amino acids & have several
chemical rxns found in living organisms
(eg. acid-base rxns)
Stage 4:
Formation of 1st genetic material
• 1980s Thomas Cech & colleagues (Univ
of Colorado)
• Discovered that RNAs act like enzymes
to assemble new RNA molecules
(ribozymes)
• Might have constituted the primordial
self replicating system
 • Therefore: Ho: first genes = RNA
• Polymerized abiotically & replicated
themselves autocatalytically
• Question: Did RNA evolve from
coacervates?
• 1991 Julius Rebek, Jr & co-workers at
MIT
• Synthesized simple organic molecule
that acts as a template to produce
copies of itself
• Ho: nucleic acid genes were preceded
by simpler hereditary systems
Amino adenosine (AA) + esters (E) =
amino adenosine triacid ester (AATE)
Fundamental Properties of Life
o Cellular organization
o Responsiveness
o Growth
o Development
o Reproduction
o Movement
o Metabolism
o Heredity
o Evolution
Origin of Plants
Land plants arose from an ancestral green alga,
and only once during evolution
Green alga consist of 2 monophyletic groups
-Chlorophyta
-Streptophyta
Streptophyta is composed of seven clades,
including land plants
-Land plants and Charales are sister
clades
Mitochondria and chloroplasts most likely
gained entry by endosymbiosis
-Mitochondria were derived from purple
nonsulfur bacteria
-Chloroplasts from cyanobacteria
Key Eukaryotic Characteristics
Compartmentalization
-Allows for increased subcellular
specialization
Multicellularity
-Allows for differentiation of cells into
tissues
Sexual reproduction
-Allows for greater genetic diversity
Characteristics of Plants
• Eukaryotic
• Multicellular
• Cellulosic cell wall
• alternation of generations (sporophyte,
gametophyte)
• Has two modes of reproduction
(asexual/sexual)
• Photosynthetic and have chlorophyll
Land plants evolved from ocean-dwelling,
algae-like ancestors, and plants have played a
role in the evolution of life, including the
addition of oxygen and ozone to the
atmosphere.
PPT 3 o 1.7 bya
o First Cells
Plant Body Parts o Prokaryotes
(Organization, Function, Reproduction, Growth o “the animation of matter”
and Development) o 3.5 bya
The Body’s Organization Eukaryotic Plant Cell
Each level represents different compartment

What is a Cell? Organelles of the cell

• The smallest unit that conforms to 1. Cell wall

the definition of life
2. Cell membrane
1. Reproduction
3. Cytoplasm
2. Response to stimuli 4. Cytoskeleton
3. Metabolism 5. Nucleus
4. Movement – chromosomes
5. Complexity of Organization 6. Mitochondria

6. Adaptation to the environment 7. Plastids

7. Heredity – Chloroplast

8. Evolution – Amyloplast

Major Evolutionary Events in the Origin of – Chromoplast

Life 8. Vacuole
o Multicellular Organisms 700-500 The Cell Wall
mya
o Eukaryotic Cells • Cell walls are:
 – Structural
– Provide defense against
invading pathogens
– Provide pathways for
communications between cells
• Structural components:
– cellulose
– hemicellulose (glue that holds
cellulose fibers together)
– pectin (stiffens fruit jellies)
– Proteins
• Cell wall organization
– Growing plant cells produce a
primary cell wall, which
stretches as the cell grows
– A secondary cell wall may then
be produced, inside the
primary wall
• Strong, thick
– Secondary cell walls set limits
to cell growth
• Middle Lamella is the area between
adjacent plant cells and is made of
pectin
The cell membrane
• Semi-fluid cell boundary (thick oil)
• controls passage in/out of cell
• Made of 2 lipid layers with proteins on
its surface and embedded within the
layers
Cytoplasm
• A rich “soup” of carbohydrates,
proteins, fats and nucleic acids
• Sometimes referred to as protoplasm
• Watery or gelatin-like substance in
which all organelles are suspended
Nucleus
• “Control center”
• Genetic information stored as
chromosomes
• The Genome: all the genetic material
in a cell
• Nuclear Pores allow passage between
the nucleus and the cytoplasm
The CYTOSKELETON
• Extensive network of protein fibers
• Functions in
• internal support
• provides internal structure to the cell
• transport of organelles and protein
vesicles
• cell motility
– cilia
– flagella
View of Cytoskeleton
• Network of protein fibers
• Provides structure and shape to the
cell
• Movement of the cell
• Internal movement of organelles and
other molecules
The Mighty
Mitochondrion! Powerhouse of the Cell
• “powerhouse of the cell”
• ATP production • regulates turgor pressure through
• Cell “breathing” is called cellular
osmosis
respiration
Plant Tissues
• The mitochondrion has its own
Genome Examples of the Different Types of
Plant Cells
• Cellular respiration:
• Parenchyma
converts sugars to energy (ATP)
• Collenchyma
Plastids
• Sclerenchyma
• Contain pigments or storage
products – fibers and sclerids

1. Chloroplasts • Vessels

• Tracheids
2. Chromoplasts
• Sieve tube members
3. Amyloplasts
• Companion cells
Chloroplast
• Egg (ovum)
• Vary in size and shape
• Sperm
• Thylakoids
The Parenchyma Cell
– where photosynthesis takes
place • The generic plant cell

• Stroma • Most abundant and versatile

– Calvin cycle • Function:

– sugar synthesis – storage

• The chloroplast has its own genome • flesh of fruit

Photosynthesis converts light energy to • storage in roots and

chemical energy (sugars)
Vacuoles
• stores water, ions, and nutrients
• receptacles for waste products
seeds
– basic metabolism
• They can change and become other
cells (differentiation)
• Alive at maturity
 • Primary cell wall  Gristle in pears

The Collenchyma Cell CellsTissues

• “glue” cells • Like animal cells, plant cells are

organized into tissues
• Flexible support
• Tissues are groups of cells that form
• Found in growing shoots, stems, & a structural and functional unit
leaves
– Simple tissues have one cell
• Differentiate from parenchyma type
cells
– Complex tissues have two or
• Alive at maturity more cell types
• Primary and secondary cell walls Tissues Tissue System
• Ex: resilient strings found in celery • Tissues are organized into tissue
Sclerenchyma systems

• Rigid cells • Vascular plants have three tissue

systems
• Function: support and strengthen
non extending regions of a plant like – Ground tissue (Fundamental
mature stems Tissues)

• Thick, non stretchable secondary cell • Energy

walls transformation,
storage and support
• Dead at maturity
– Vascular tissue (Fascicular
• Two Types: Tissues)

1. Fibers • Water and nutrient

conduction system
o long, slender, occur in
strands – Dermal tissue

o Cotton • Covering for the plant

body
o Hemp
• Building a House
o Flax (Linen)
1. Foundation is laid
2. Sclerids
2. Construction of the frame
 short, varying shape,
occur in groups 3. Installation of plumbing, heating, etc
 4. Waterproof walls and roof • Found at the tips of roots and
shoots
5. Food stored in appropriate places
• Increase the length of a plant
• Building a plant
Apical meristems give rise to:
1. Meristems give rise to all tissues
• Three primary meristems
2. Three tissue systems give rise to the
major organs of a plant 1. Ground meristem

3. Installation of the vascular tissue – Give rise to ground

(plumbing) tissues

2. Protoderm
4. Installation of dermal tissues
– Give rise to “skin”
– covering, skin
coverings
5. Installation of ground tissue 3. Procambium
– parenchyma – Give rise to plumbing
of the plant
Meristems
Other Meristems: Lateral meristems
• Meristems are regions of cell
division • Secondary Growth

• Main difference between animals • Add girth (width) by producing wood

and plants and bark

• Birds and mammals stop growing at Other Meristems:

maturity, although certain cells get Intercalary Meristems
replenished (skin) • Why grass keeps growing back after
you cut it.
• Plants have the ability to keep
growing their entire lives • Grasses and related plants do not have
lateral meristems
• Meristems make it possible to grow
a new plant from a cutting • Intercalary meristems add to the
plants length
• Growth in plants is the counterpart
(to some extent) to movement in
animals

Apical Meristems

• Shoot apical meristem

• Root apical meristem

The Tissue Systems Give Rise to the Organs of • provide flexible support
a Plant
Sclerenchyma

• Tissues (cells) have thick, tough

secondary cell walls made of lignin

• Dead at maturity

• Function in support

1. sclerids

2. fibers

Fibers are used for clothing

• Cotton
Ground Tissue
• Linen
• Tissues that “ground” the plant
• Bamboo
• Fundamental tissues of a plant
• Hemp
1. parenchyma
The Dermal and Vascular Tissue Systems are
2. collenchyma made of Complex Tissues

3. sclerenchyma • Tissues that are made of more than

one cell type
Ground Tissues: Parenchyma
• Dermal Tissues
• cells assume various shapes and sizes
– epidermis
• contain starch grains or other storage
granules – endodermis

• oils • Vascular tissues

• tannins (tanning or dyeing substances) – Xylem

• crystals – Phloem

• various other secretions Dermal Tissues

Ground Tissues: Collenchyma • dermal tissues cover the organs of a

plant. They are analogous to skin.
• are alive at maturity
• epidermis
• cell walls are thicker and more uneven
• outermost layer of cells
• typically longer than wide
• usually one cell layer thick
• tend to be found under the epidermis
 • epidermal cells have a layer of cutin Complex Tissue: Vascular Tissues
(cuticle)
• Xylem Tissue
– resistant to bacteria and other
disease organisms – transports water and dissolved
substances through the plant
Cuticle Wax to all its organs

• Wax Myrtle – parenchyma cells

• Myrica cerifera – fibers

• waxes obtained from boiling the leaves – tracheids

is used to make bayberry candles
– vessels
Epidermis is made of many types of cells
– rays
1. Guard cells form stomata
• Vessels
2. Trichomes
• Have thick secondary cell walls
– Outgrowths – ‘hairs’
• dead at maturity
– Some leaf trichomes use to
keep animals away • long tubular cells with grate-like
openings at the end
– Some used to eliminate salt
• contain pits
– Some thought to increase
reflection to reduce stem/leaf – areas where no 2° cell wall is
temperature laid down
– Root hairs are a type of Many cone bearing trees and other non-
trichome, increase surface area flowering plants
to increase uptake of nutrients
• Xylem is made of tracheids only
3. Glands
• soft wood of pines
Root Hairs are extensions of epidermal cells
• tracheids often have spiral thickenings
Dermal Tissues: Epidermis on them
• Glands secrete substances that protect • Vessels make the wood of flowering
the plant trees “hard” wood
• secrete nectar Complex Tissue: Vascular Tissues
• digestive glands • Phloem Tissue
• Sundews – transports dissolved food
• trigger hairs of a Venus Flytrap (sugars) through the plant to
all its organs
 – sieve tube members
– companion cells
– parenchyma
– fibers
– rays
Phloem: Companion cells
• Companion cells are “companions” to
sieve tube cells
• Because sieve tube cells have no
nuclei, the companion cells provide all
the nutrients to the sieve tube cell
PPT 4
Root External Structure
Functions Structure
 Penetration of Soil
 Gravitropism Downward
Growth
 Water and Mineral Intake
 Conduction (Xylem and Phloem)
 Storage of Materials
 Branching
 Anchorage and Absorption
Root Internal Structure
Gravitropism
 Root Tip Senses Gravity
 Auxin Hormone Produced
 Auxin Accumulates on Lower
 Growth Inhibited on Lower…
 Relative to Upper
 Root Curves Downward
Water and Mineral Uptake
 Root Hairs Increase Surface Area
 Root Hairs Secrete Acid (H+)
 H+ Cation Exchange w/Minerals
 Mineral Uptake into Roots
Osmosis: passive movement of water from
pure to polluted area
Root hairs are responsible for cation
exchange
Theory of hormonal induction of
senescence
Root pruning - the concept that plants
prune the roots in the same kind of way as
they abscise leaves, is not a well discussed
topic among plant scientists, although the
phenomena undoubtedly exists. If
gibberellin, brassinosteroid and ethylene
are known to inhibit root growth it takes
just a little imagination to assume they
perform the same role as ethylene does in
the shoot, that is to prune the roots too.
Hormonal root pruning theory - in the new
theory just like ethylene, GA, BA and Eth are
seen both to be induced by sugar (GA/BA)
and oxygen (ETH) shortages (as well as
maybe excess levels of carbon dioxide for
Eth) in the roots, and to push sugar and
oxygen, as well as minerals, water and the
growth hormones out of the root cell
causing a positive feedback loop resulting
the emptying and death of the root cell. The
final death knell for a root might be
strigolactone or most probably ABA as
these are indicators of substances that
should be abundant in the root and if they
can't even support themselves with these
nutrients then they should be senesced.
Theory of hormonal induction of (and ABA and strigolactones) are needed
senescence before a cell would senesce.

Shoot pruning - it is now known thought
that ethylene induces the shedding of
leaves much more than abscisic acid. ABA
originally received its name because it was
discovered to have a role in leaf abscission.
Its role is now seen to be minor and only
occurring in special cases.
In roots suberin is deposited in the radial
and transverse cell walls of the endodermal
cells. This structure, known as the Casparian
strip or Casparian band, functions to
prevent water and nutrients taken up by the
root from entering the stele through the
apoplast.

Hormonal shoot pruning theory - a new Root Specialized

simple theory says that even though
ethylene may be responsible for the final
act of leaf shedding, it is ABA and
strigolactones that induces senescence in
leaves due to a run away positive feedback
mechanism. What supposedly happens is
that ABA and strigolactones are released by
mostly mature leaves under water and or
mineral shortages. The ABA and
strigolactones act in mature leaf cells
however, by pushing out minerals, water,
sugar, gases and even the growth hormones
auxin and cytokinin (and possibly jasmonic
and salicylic acid in addition). This causes
even more ABA and strigolactones to be
made until the leaf is drained of all
nutrients. When conditions get particularly
bad in the emptying mature leaf cell, it will
experience sugar and oxygen deficiencies
and so lead to gibberellin and finally
ethylene emanation. When the leaf senses
ethylene it knows its time to excise.

Theory of hormonal induction of

senescence

Parallels to cell division - the theory,

perhaps even more controversially, asserts
that just as both auxin and cytokinin seem
to be needed before a plant cell divides, in
the same way perhaps ethylene and GA/BA
 Mycorrhizal Fungi

Aerial Roots

Plant attaches itself to tree branch or telephone Compare A and B

wire or facilitates climbing

Roots hang down in mid-air and absorb water

from rainfall

Examples :

 Wild Pine
 Some Orchids

ADVENTITIOUS Roots -

Grow from unusual places on plants such as

- Stems, leaves and even fruits

Mycorrhizal Fungi

Naturally occurring
forming a symbiotic
relationship

Attach to roots and

become Extensions
of the root system

Expand = access to
moisture &
nutrients from soil

In return, the host plant feeds the fungi

with sugars and organic substances

Benefits of Mycorrhizal Hyphae
1. Improve plant establishment and
growth
2. Increased nutrient and water uptake
3. Drought tolerance
4. Improved disease resistance
5. Assists in weed suppression
6. Improved soil structure
7. More blossoms, fruit and top growth
Three Types of N-fixers
Cyanobacteria: Autotrophic N-fixers, protect
nitrogenase with specialized heterocyst cells.
Heterotorophic bacteria: Free-living or
associative with rhizosphere. Use energy from
decomposing organic matter to fix N, protect
nitrogenase by rapidly converting O2 to CO2
through respiration.
Symbiotic bacteria: Plants form nodules to
house bacteria and provide C as energy source
(Rhizobium/Bradyrhizobium for legumes,
Frankia for non-legumes). Nodules contain a
form of hemoglobin which binds O2, protecting
nitrogenase enzyme.
Physiology of a legume nodule

Legume Fixed carbon (malate, sucrose)

rhizobia Fixednitrogen(ammonia) Legume

PPT 5

Stem Structure and Function

FUNCTIONS

• Stems support leaves

and branches.

• Stems transport
water and solutes
between roots and
leaves.

• Stems in some plants

are photosynthetic.

• Stems may store

materials necessary
 for life (e.g., water, starch, sugar). Stems – Structure and Development
• In some plants, stems have become
adapted for specialized functions. • Stems have all three types of plant
• May be tissue
vegetative (leaf
bearing) or • Grow by division at meristems
reproductive
(flower – Develop into leaves, other
bearing). shoots, and even flowers
• Node- area of
stem where leaf • Leaves may be arranged in one of three
is born ways
• Internodes-
stem area • Modified shoots with diverse functions
between nodes have evolved in many plants.
• Buds: Stem
elongation. – These shoots, which include
Embryonic stolons, rhizomes, tubers and
tissue of leaves bulbs, are often mistaken for
and stem (not flower bud) roots.
• Terminal bud- Located at tip of stems – Stolons, such as the “runners”
or branches. of strawberry plants, grow on
• Axillary bud- Gives rise to branches
the
• Apical Dominance: Prevention of
branch formation by terminal bud surface and enable a plant to colonize large
areas asexually when a parent plant fragments
Plant Tissues into many smaller offspring.
1. Dermal Tissue System – Rhizomes, like those of ginger,
• Outer covering are horizontal stems that grow
underground.
• Protection
– Tubers, including potatoes, are
2. Vascular Tissue System the swollen ends of rhizomes
• “Vessels” throughout plant specialized for food storage.

• Transport materials – Bulbs, such as onions, are

3. Ground Tissue System
• “Body” of plant
• Photosynthesis; storage;
support
vertical, underground shoots
consisting mostly of the swollen
bases of leaves that store food.
Plant Tissues – Ground Tissue
Some major types of plant cells:

– Parenchyma
 – Collenchyma
– Sclerenchyma
– Tissues that are neither dermal nor
vascular are ground tissue
– Ground tissue internal to the vascular
tissue is pith; ground tissue external to
the vascular tissue is cortex
– Ground tissue includes cells specialized
for storage, photosynthesis, and
support
Vascular Tissue
Vascular tissue:
Runs continuous throughout the plant
• transports materials between roots and
shoots.
– Xylem transports water and
dissolved minerals upward from
roots into the shoots.
(water the xylem)
– Phloem transports food from
the leaves to the roots and to
non-photosynthetic parts of the
shoot system.
(feed the phloem)
Xylem
– Main water-conducting tissue
of vascular plants.
– arise from individual cylindrical
cells oriented end to end.
– At maturity the end walls of
these cells dissolve away and
the cytoplasmic contents die.
– The result is the xylem vessel,
a continuous nonliving duct.
– carry water and some dissolved
solutes, such as inorganic ions,
up the plant
Phloem
– The main components of
phloem are
• sieve elements
• companion cells.
– Sieve elements have no nucleus
and only a sparse collection of
other organelles . Companion
cell provides energy
– so-named because end walls
are perforated - allows
cytoplasmic connections
between vertically-stacked cells
.
– conducts sugars and amino
acids - from the leaves, to the
rest of the plant
Phloem transport requires specialized, living
cells
• Sieve tubes elements join to form
continuous tube
• Pores in sieve plate between sieve tube
elements are open channels for
transport
• Each sieve tube element is associated
with one or more companion cells.
– Many plasmodesmata
penetrate walls between sieve
 tube elements and companion
cells
– Close relationship, have a
ready exchange of solutes
between the two cells
Phloem transport requires specialized, living
cells
• Companion cells:
o Main role is the transport of
photosynthesis products from
producing cells in mature leaves
to sieve plates of the small vein
of the leaf
o Synthesis of the various
proteins used in the phloem
o Contain many mitochondria for
cellular respiration to provide
the cellular energy required for
active transport
o There ate three types
 Ordinary companion
cells
 Transfer cells
 Intermediary cells
Vasculature - Comparisons
• In most monocot stems, the vascular
bundles are scattered throughout the
ground tissue, rather than forming a
ring as with Dicots
Plant stem growth
 Vegetative development is based on
meristems, in which cell division occurs
throughout life, producing cells that go
on to differentiate.
 When a meristem is converted from
vegetative to reproductive
development, regulatory transcription
factors are activated that control the
identity and position of floral organs.
Plant Growth
1) Primary Growth:
• Apical Meristems: Mitotic cells at “tips”
of roots / stems
• Increased length
• Specialized structures (e.g. fruits)
2) Secondary Growth:
• Lateral Meristems: Mitotic cells
“hips” of plant
Responsible for increases in stem/root
diameter
Plant Growth
• Indeterminate: Grow throughout
life
• Growth at “tips” (length) and at
“hips” (girth)
Growth patterns in plant:
1) Meristem Cells: Dividing Cells
2) Differentiated Cells: Cells specialized in
structure & role
• Form stable, permanent part of plant
Meristems
• The tissue in most plants consisting of
undifferentiated cells (meristematic
cells), found in zones of the plant where
growth can take place.
• Meristematic cells are analogous in
function to stem cells in animals, are
 incompletely or not differentiated, and differentiate and specialize to form
are capable of continued cellular the secondary vascular tissues.
division.
• The vascular cambium is the source of
• Furthermore, the cells are small both the secondary xylem
and protoplasm fills the cell completely. (inwards, towards the pith)

• • And the secondary phloem

• The vacuoles are extremely small. – (outwards),

The cytoplasm does not contain
chloroplasts although they are present – And is located between these
in rudimentary form (proplastids). tissues in the stem and root.

• Meristematic cells are packed closely • Made from, procambium that remains
undifferentiated between the primary
together without intercellular cavities.
xylem and primary phloem.
Plant Growth
• Upon maturity, this region is known as
Two lateral meristems: vascular cambium the fascicular cambium, and the area of
and cork cambium cells between the vascular bundles
(fascicles) called pith rays becomes
Plant Growth what is called the interfascicular
Stem – Secondary Growth cambium.

• thicker, stronger stems • The fascicular and inter-fascicular

cambiums, therefore, represent a
Vascular Cambium: between primary xylem continuous ring which bisects the
and phloem primary xylem and primary phloem.
Produces inside stem:
• The vascular cambium then produces
A) Secondary xylem secondary xylem on the inside of the
ring, and secondary phloem on the
- moves H2O, inward
outside, pushing the primary xylem and
B) Secondary phloem phloem apart.

- moves sugars, outward • The vascular cambium usually consists

of two types of cells:
Vascular cambium
– Fusiform initials (tall cells,
• Is a lateral meristem in the vascular
axially orientated.
tissue of plants.
– Ray initials (almost
• It is a cylinder of unspecialized
isodiametric cells - smaller and
meristematic cells that divide to give
round to angular in shape).
rise to cells that further divide,
Note:
• The vascular cambium is a type
of meristem - tissue consisting of
embryonic (incompletely
differentiated) cells from which other
(more differentiated) plant tissues
originate.
• Primary meristems are the apical
meristems on root tips and shoot tips.
– Production of Secondary Xylem
and Phloem The accumulation
of this tissue over the years
accounts for most of the
increase in diameter of a
woody plant.
– Secondary xylem forms to the
interior and secondary phloem
to the exterior of the vascular
cambium.
Cork cambium
• Another lateral meristem is the cork
cambium, which produces cork, part of
the bark.
• Together, the secondary vascular
tissues (produced by the vascular
cambium) and periderm (formed by the
cork cambium) makes up the secondary
plant body.
• Vascular cambia are found
in dicots and gymnosperms but
not monocots, which usually lack
secondary growth.
• In wood, the vascular cambium is the
obvious line separating the bark and
wood.
• Capon, Brian (2005). Botany for
Gardeners (2nd ed.). Portland, OR:
Timber Publishing
• The cork cambium is a lateral
meristem and is responsible for
secondary growth that replaces
the epidermis in roots and stems.
• It is found in woody and many
herbaceous dicots, gymnosperms and
some monocots, which usually lack
secondary growth.
• Growth and development of cork
cambium is very variable between
different species, and is also highly
dependent on age, growth conditions,
etc. as can be observed from the
different surfaces of bark:
• smooth, fissured, tesselated,
scaly, flaking off, etc.
Primary growth is responsible for:
1. Growth in length of the stem
2. Produces the basic tissue pattern
in the
stem
Secondary growth is responsible for:
1. Growth in girth of the stem
2. Produces secondary (new and
more) vascular tissues
3. Provides a continuous connection
of meristematic cells between the primary
tissues of the roots and the primary tissues
of the shoots.
Development of the Vascular Cambium
A. The function of the vascular cambium is to
produce secondary growth, thus the vascular
cambium must be formed before secondary
growth can occur
B. Two regions of the primary stem contribute
to the vascular cambium
1. Fasciscular cambium - the meristematic cells
within the vascular bundle
2. Interfascicular cambium - the meristematic
cells between the vascular bundles
The differentiation of the fascicular cambium
1. Not all of the procambium in the
vascular bundle differentiates into
xylem or phloem
2. This undifferentiated procambium is
called the residual procambium
3. The residual procambium is 2-4 cells wide
and remains meristematic
4. The residual procambium will be called
vascular cambium when the vascular
cambium begins to divide to form secondary
tissue
5. Thus, fascicular cambium is the regions of
the vascular cambium that originated within the
vascular bundle
The differentiation of the interfascicular
cambium
This portion of the vascular cambium originates
in the pith rays between the vascular bundles
2. A band of parenchyma cells, about 2-4 cells
wide de-differentiate and become meristematic
Two kinds of initials in the vascular cambium
• Ray initials
*In xylem and phloem these are the
parenchyma cells
*small cells perpendicular to the axis of stem
*from sclerenchyma cells or ray parenchyma
that radially divide the stem (like slices of pie)
*rays elongate perpendicular to axis to stem
*cells transport water and dissolved solutes
radially
• Fusiform initials
• tapered, prism-shaped cell, periclinal
division
• oriented parallel to stem axis
• produce secondary xylem and
secondary phloem between rays
• conducting cells of this tissue transport
water and dissolved solute
longitudinally
• Produces the axial (vertical) transport
system
• Generally the xylem-producing cells are
more active than the phloem producing
cells
• In temperate areas, the cambium is
active from the spring to the fall and is
inactive in the winter
• The yearly activity of the cambium
produces the annual rings in the xylem
Periderm (cork)
• Function of the periderm:
o Increase in diameter of the
stem occurs with the activity of
the vascular cambium
o This causes the protective
epidermis to crack and split
open
o Thus, a need for a meristematic
layer at the outer edge of the
phloem for the internal
protection of the stem
 o Thus a layer of cork cambium f. b. The new phellogen forms in the
forms outside of the phloem. outer region of the still-living phloem
o The cork cambium forms a layer
of waxy cork cells g. c. New phellogens will form about
o The cylinder of cork cambium every one to four years depending
increase in diameter as the upon the species of tree
stem increases in diameter
Bark and Wood
Formation of the cork
a. bark: aggregation of tissues outside
• In the young stem (1 year old or less)
vascular cambium
• Cortical cells just under the epidermis
become – As the layers of cells outside
• meristematic the vascular cambium die, they
• Produces a layer 1-2 cells thick of cork are sloughed off as bark
cambium
• (phellogen) – In the young stem the bark
• Phellogen produces a layer of cork cells contains: epidermis, cork, cork
4-6 cells cambium, phelloderm, cortex,
• thick external (toward the epidermis) to and phloem
the phellogen
• Phellogen produces a single layer of – In the old stem the bark
cells, contains: cork, cork cambium,
• phelloderm, internal (toward the phelloderm, and phloem
xylem and phloem) to
b. wood: aggregation of tissues inner to the
• the phellogen
vascular cambium
Structure of Periderm
WOOD
a. Cells are flattened
• xylem tissue
b. Cell walls contain suberin, a waxy
• Softwood - wood with only tracheids in
substance
it (gymnosperm wood)
c. phellogen (cork cambium) + phellem +
• Hardwood - wood with both tracheids
phelloderm ⇒ periderm
and vessels in it (angiosperm wood)
d. periderm + primary phloem ⇒ outer
• Heartwood - wood in the center of the
bark
tree, no longer conducting; darker
e. outer bark + secondary phloem ⇒
• - usually with tylose (balloon-like
inner bark
outgrowths from ray or axial
In old stems (more than 1 year old, parenchyma cells through pit cavities
in vessel wall): may serve as defense
generally 3-4 years)
mechanism by inhibiting spread
a. A new phellogen forms because the of pathogen through the plant via
xylem
former phellogen dies
• Sapwood - wood at the periphery of
the stem, actively conducting; lighter
Heartwood vs. Sapwood
• Heartwood- the part of the wood in a
living tree that contains dead cells;
nonconducting wood.
• Sapwood- the part of the wood in a
living tree that contains living cells and
reserve materials; conducting wood.
Seasonal Growth Cycles
• Annual- a plant whose life cycle is
completed in a single growing season.
• Biennial- a plant whose life cycle is
completed in two growing seasons;
flowering and fruiting occurs in the
second year.
• Perennial- a plant whose vegetative
portion of the life cycle lives year after
year.
Secondary Growth
• At the beginning of each growing
season primary growth is resumed and
secondary tissues are added.
• Secondary Growth- an increase in
thickness (girth) to the plant body as a
result of the activity of 2 lateral
meristems:
– Vascular Cambium
– Cork Cambium
WOOD CUTS
Transverse section (c.s.)
section cut at right angles to the main axis of
stem or root;
cells of the axial system are cut transversely
and reveal their smallest dimensions
• radial
– when stem or root are cut
lenghtwise, parallel to a radius;
– Expose rays as horizontal
bands lying across the axial
system
– At its median plane, it reveals
the height of the ray
• Tangential
– when stem or root are cut
lenghtwise,perpendicular to
the radius;
– Cuts a ray perpendicular to its
horizontal extent and reveals
its height and width
– Easy to measure the height of a
ray, (usually done in terms of
number of cells) and to see if
ray is one or more cells wide
Summary
Vascular Cambium
• Vascular cambium- a cylindrical sheath
of meristematic cells that produces
secondary xylem & phloem.
• Consists of two forms of highly
vacuolated cells:
– Fusiform initials
– Ray initials
• Vascular rays
– Pathways for the movement of
food substances and water.
– Storage of starch, protein, &
lipids.
Wood- Secondary Xylem
• Wood uses- shelter, fire, weapons,
furniture, tools, paper, boats, wheels.
 • Wood is classified as:
of the Vascular Cambium
– Hardwood- magnoliids and
eudicots.
Softwood- conifers
Conifers- softwoods
• Tracheary elements- tracheids only.
Pinus- radial and tangential sections
Magnoliids and Eudicots- hardwoods
• Tracheary elements- tracheids and
vessel elements.
Periderm
• Periderm- outer tissue that replaces
the epidermis as the protective
covering of the plant.
– Cork cambium- meristem that
produces the periderm.
Growth Rings Result from the Periodic Activity
• Growth rings- a layer of growth in
secondary xylem or phloem.
• Annual rings- a growth layer that
represents one season’s growth.
• Early wood
– Less dense than late wood.
– Produced during period of
rapid growth.
– Wide cells with thin walls.
• Late wood
– Dense.
– Produced during periods of
slow growth.
– Narrow cells with thick walls.

– Cork (phellem)- secondary

tissue that cuts toward the
outside of the cork cambium;
dead at maturity; suberin;
impermeable to water and
gases.

– Phelloderm- secondary tissue

that is cut towards the inside
of the cork cambium; living at
maturity; no suberin;
permeable.

Lenticel- spongy regions on the cork surfaces

of stems, roots, and other plant parts that
allow for gas exchange

• Bark- collective term for all tissues

outside the vascular cambium.

– Secondary phloem

– Periderm