TOPIC 6:

PLANT STRUCTURE & FUNCTION

Plant Organs
• Flowering plants have two
major components to their
structure.
– A root system; extends below
ground
– A shoot system; composed of
the stem, leaves, and
reproductive organs.

• At the end of the root and shoot

system is a terminal bud from
which vertical growth, called
primary growth, occurs.
 Leaf
— Recall that organs of photosynthesis,
the process by which plants make
carbohydrates, occurs in the leaves.

— To conduct photosynthesis, leaves

need solar energy, water, and carbon
dioxide.

— Photosynthetic leaves share similar

structural components.
— The blade, the wide part of the leaf
— The petiole, the stalk connecting
leaf to stem.
The blade:
— the wide part of the leaf
— Have maximum surface
area for the collection of
energy & absorb CO2

The petiole:
— the stalk connecting leaf
to stem.
— Receive H2O from the root
by way of vascular tissue
that terminates in the
leaves
— There is tremendous
diversity in leaf structure
between plant species.

— In some plant species,

leaves may serve
additional functions, such
as storage.

— Some plants are

deciduous, meaning that
they drop their leaves
during certain seasons.
 Leaves adaptations:
Leaves may have several
other functions
— Modified as tendrils-
that allow the plant to
attach to objects.

— The leaves of cactus are

spines that reduce H2O
loss & protect the plant
from browsing animals.

— The leaves as traps

for catching insects.
Stems
— The stem is the main axis
of the plant.

— Stems can produce side

(lateral) branches from
lateral (axillary) buds.

• Nodes are the points

where leaves attach to
stems.

— An internode is the region

between nodes.
— The stem also contains the vascular tissue that
transports water and nutrients to leaves to
support photosynthesis.

— In some plant species, stems may also carry out

photosynthesis or serve as a storage organ (e.g.
tuber)

Sweet potato- tuber plant

 Monocotyledon Versus Dicotyledon Plants
Vascular tissue:
— The arrangement of the vascular tissue differs between
monocots and eudicots.
— Plants have two types of vascular tissue.
— The xylem transports water and minerals.
— The phloem transports organic nutrients.
— The vascular tissues serve as a type of circulatory system for
plants.
 Monocot vs. Dicot
Vascular Tissue Arrangement
 Roots
— Roots system supports the
plant by anchor plants to the
soil.
— Roots also absorb water and
nutrients from the soil.
— The surface area of roots is
greatly increased by the
production of root hairs.
Root Hair
— There are different types of root systems.
— Some plants have a single taproot.
— Grasses have fibrous root systems.
— Some plants have prop roots; a type of
adventitious root for support.
Organization of Leaf
The top and bottom of a typical eudicot:
• leaf is composed of epidermis
• The epidermis often has hairs or glands.
• Stomata are located on the lower epidermis.

The interior of the leaf is composed of photosynthetic

mesophyll cells.
• The spongy mesophyll is arranged randomly to
increase surface area for gas exchange.
• The palisade mesophyll is comprised of elongated,
vertically-oriented cells; Contain the most
chloroplast.
 1.
Transportation of water and
nutrients in xilem
 Xylem: Tracheids and Vessel Members

— Water and dissolved

mineral ions flow
through conducting
tubes of xylem

— Interconnected,
perforated walls of
tracheids and vessel
members (dead cells)
form the tubes
 Water movement in plants
(Transport of water and nutrients)
Transpiration
— The water and nutrients taken up
by roots and root hairs through
soil water.

Cohesion &
— H2O enter the root by osmosis adhesion

— H2O + nutrients are transported

to leaves via the interconnected
vessel elements of the xylem.
— H2O + nutrients transported to
leaves

Root pressure
1. Root Pressure
— The water and nutrients taken up by roots and root hairs
through soil water.
— This movement is provided in part by root pressure,
a positive pressure created when water enters the root
by osmosis.
— (Soil hypotonicà root hypertonic)

Root pressure
2. Cohesion-Tension Theory
• The cohesion-tension model
explains how water travels up
the xylem to leaves. Transpiration

• Leaves have numerous openings

Cohesion &
called stomata. adhesion

• When these stomata are open,

water evaporates from the
interior of the leaf to the outside
air, a process called
transpiration.
— As plant leaves transpire water, a tension is created that
pulls water from roots to leaves.
— This tension is maintained because water molecules
display an attraction to one another called cohesion.
— Hydrogen bonds among water molecules resist
rupturing (cohesion) so water is pulled upward as a
continuous fluid column
— Water also adheres to the xylem elements in a process
called adhesion.
— Hydrogen bonds break and water molecules diffuse into
the air during transpiration
 Transpiration
Cohesion- Evaporation of water from
Tension stomata creating a tension
that pulls the water column
Theory from root to leaf

Water rises through xylem

vessels because :
1. Cohesion: Water
molecules are
attracted to each
other
2. Adhesion: Water
molecules form
hydrogen bonds with
the xylem cell wall
Root pressure
created when
water enter root
cells via osmosis

** Because of cohesion, new water molecules is drawn from the xylem which is
replaced by water from the roots
3. Transpiration
Transpiration
— Evaporation of water from
plant parts (mainly though
stomata) into air

— Transpiration pulls water

upward through xylem by
causing continuous negative
pressure (tension) from
leaves to roots

(root hypotonic à leaves

hypertonic)
 https://youtu.be/bvPM6sfidY4

https://youtu.be/rK2DIF_tgCg
Opening and Closing of Stomata
— The opening and closing of the leaf stomata is controlled
by turgor pressure within the guard cells.
— As water enters the guard cells, these cells swell, opening
the stomata.
— As water exits the guard cells, the loss of turgor causes
the stomata to close.
 Water Conservation
— Cuticle
— Waxy covering that protects all plant parts exposed to
surroundings
— Helps the plant conserve water
Stomata
— Environmental signals cause stomata to open and close
— Closed stomata limit water loss (but prevent gas exchange
for photosynthesis and aerobic respiration)

— Some plant like CAM plant adapt for water conservation

and photosynthesis by opening their stomata at night to
allow CO2 for photosynthesis and close stomata during the
day to prevent dehydration.

The pineapple is
an example of a
CAM plant.

CAM= Crassulacean acid

metabolism
 2.
Transportation of organic
nutrient in Phloem
Sieve-Tube Members
Sieve-Tube Members

one of a series of
living cells that abut,
end to end, and form
a sieve tube

companion cell (in

the background,
pressed tightly
against sieve tube)

perforated end
plate of sieve-tube
Cell (sieve plate)
Organic Nutrients in the Phloem
— The phloem transport carbohydrates from
photosynthesizing leaves to roots, young leaves, and
other tissues that require carbohydrates.
— The transport of carbohydrates through the phloem
occurs by a mechanism called the pressure-flow
theory.
— Phloem distributes sucrose and other organic
compounds from photosynthetic cells in leaves to
living cells throughout the plant
— Organic compounds are actively loaded into
conducting cells, then unloaded in growing tissues or
storage tissues
— As mature leaves
photosynthesize, phloem
load sucrose. Phloem is
considered source of sugar
(Source cell).

— The phloem transported

sugar to tissues that require
sugars, called sink tissues
(Sink cell).

— Sugar are unloaded at sink

region (actively growing or
storage parts of the plant
Moving organic nutrients:
Pressure flow theory
— Phloem
— Translocates photosynthetic
products down pressure and Translocation

solute concentration
gradients

— Translocation Process
— Distributes sucrose and other
organic compounds
throughout the plant
— An energy-requiring process
— Can be elaborate by
Pressure-flow theory
Pressure Flow Theory
1. Source cells: produce glucose/
organic molecules (by
photosynthesis)
2. Glucose is converted to sucrose
for transport
(4) (1) 3. Companion cell loads sucrose
glucose 4. Water follows from xylem by
(5)
(3) osmosis
(2)
5. Sap volume and pressure
increased
6. Sap flow within phloem
7. Unload the organic molecules by
(10) (6)
the companion cell
8. Sucrose is stored in sink
cell/tissues (as starch)
(7) (8) 9. Water diffuses into xylem
(9) 10. Water recycles as part of
transpiration to re supply the
sucrose loading
https://youtu.be/MxwI63rQubU