PLANT CELLS

The basic unit of all plants

APICAL MERISMATIC
occur at the tips of the roots and shoots
- responsible for the extension in length of
MERISMATIC the plant body (primary growth).

is composed of a small population of

meristematic cells which grow and divide to
produce new cells, but never mature
themselves.
Characteristics:
- small size
- very thin primary wall
LATERAL MERISTEM
- no central vacuole
In addition to the apical meristems
- dense cytoplasm located in the shoot and root tips, plants in
the DICOT class have lateral meristems.
-the nucleus occupies a large part of the
-Lateral meristems cause SECONDARY
GROWTH.
- Secondary growth causes stems and roots
to grow larger in diameter.
-also known as cambium.

Meristematic tissues are responsible

for plant growth. They are present at the
tips of roots, stem and branch.