PLANT CLASSIFICATION

● Plants can either be non-vascular or vascular

○ Non-vascular
■ No true roots, stems, leaves
■ Simple - bryophytes (hornworts, liverworts, mosses)
○ Vascular
- Has a tissue systems
- Has parts and they interact with one another
- Has tissues that are connected
■ Spore-bearing (seedless) - ferns and fern allies [release spores]
■ Cone-bearing (seed bearing) - naked seed [gymnosperms]
■ Flowering (fruits with seeds) - angiosperm [dicot or monocot]
● Plants can either be herbaceous or woody
○ Herbaceous - does not develop persistent woody parts above the ground
■ Annual plants - grow, reproduce, and die after 1 year / growing season (or less)
■ Biennial plants - take 2 years to grow and reproduce
■ Perennial plants - live for more than 2 years
○ Woody - does develop persistent woody parts above the ground
PLANT GROWTH
● Regatative - production of reproductive leaves, stems, and roots
● Reproductive - composed of highly modified flowers for sexual reproduction

● Interminate - growth occurs throughout plant life

● Determinate - growth stops after reaching a certain size

● Primary Growth - growth that increases the length of the plant

● Secondary Growth - growth that increase the girth or thickness of the plant roots or shoot

MERISTEM
● Embryonic tissues of 2 types:
○ Apical meristem - enables primary growth (length); root, shoot
○ Lateral meristem - enables secondary growth (thickness/girth)
● Meristem becomes permanent tissues
● Meristematic tissues:
○ Origin and development
■ Promeristem
■ Primary meristem
■ Secondary meristem
○ Location
■ Apical
■ Intercalary
■ Lateral
○ Function
■ Protoderm
■ Procambium
■ Ground meristem
● Permanent Tissues
○ Simple Permanent - have similar cell types
■ Parenchyma
■ Collenchyma
■ Sclerenchyma
○ Complex permanent - have different cells but 1 function
■ Xylem
■ Phloem

THE 3 BASIC PLANT ORGANS

● Roots, stems, and leaves
○ Shoot system - includes stem and leaves, photosynthetic, usually a vertical stem bearing
leaves)
○ Root system - includes roots, non-photosynthetic, provides H2O + minerals absorbed
from soil
● Each plant organ - root, stem, or leaf - has: dermal tissues, vascular tissues, ground tissues,
forming tissue systems: functional units in plant organs
Tissue systems can be:
I. Ground Tissue System: composed of simple permanent tissues
- Tissues that are neither
dermal or vascular
- Has a variety of functions
including
photosynthesis, storage,
secretion and support
- Covers up most of the
plant
- Metabolic processes
required for plant
survival
- Can form:
- Pith: internal to
the vascular tissue
- Cortex: external to
the vascular tissue
A. Parenchyma Tissue
- Metabolically active
- Composed of parenchyma cells that
> lack secondary cell wall
> has thin primary cell wall
> are active metabolically and alive at maturity
> relatively unspecialized (have the ability to
differentiate into other kinds of cells
- Parenchyma cells have numerous subtypes
(specialized for particular tasks)
1. Chlorenchyma - photosynthetic
2. Aerenchyma - gas exchange
3. Storage parenchyma - contains amyloplasts
4. Stellate parenchyma - branched
B. Collenchyma Tissue
- Supports certain plant parts (portion of the stem,
leaf stalk, petiole)
- Semi-flexible
- Composed of collenchyma cells that:
> lack secondary cell wall
> have thick and uneven primary cell wall
> provides support (in shoot tops and petiole) and
plasticity: ability to deform under pressure
> are alive
C. Sclerenchyma Tissue
- Structural support (like bones in animals)
- Composed of sclerenchyma cells that:
> have primary cell wall
> have secondary cell wall strengthened by lignin
(found in regions that stop growing in length;
cannot “elongate”)
> are more rigid “skeleton”
> are dead at maturity
1. Fibers - long, spindle-shaped, more elastic
(elongates as the internodes increase in length)
2. Sclereids - typically short, brittle, and flexible; form
hard and inperetable surfaces (shells of walnuts and
coconuts)
II. Vascular Tissue System: In the root system and stem, in between pith and cortex, is
carries out long distance called…
transport materials A. Stele
between the root and - Vascular bundle (stem): separates strands containing
shoot system xylem and phloem
- Vascular cylinder (roots)

Can be either…
A. Water-Conducting Xylem
- From root to shoot (stems + leaves)
a. Complex tissues composed of conducting
sclerenchyma cells (dead at maturity):
i. Tracheids
- long, thin cells with tapered ends
hardened with lignin; with pits:
thinner regions (primary cell wall
only)
ii. Vessel elements (bigger)
- found mainly in angiosperms
- Generally wider, shorter, and less
tapered than tracheids
- H2O flows (laterally) through the
vessels/perforation plates (holes in
their end walls)
- Non-conducting cells
b. Non-conducting cells:
i. Xylem parenchyma: stores food, metabolic
processes, secretion
ii. Xylem fibers: help in support
B. Sugar-Conducting Phloem (throughout the plant)
- Transports food (C6H12O6) from leaves to the rest
of the plants
a. Conducting cells:
i. Sieve-tube elements:
> Long, thin cells that are stretched end on
end to form long sieve-tube; end walls with
holes called sieve plate
> Alive at maturity but nucleus, vacuole,
mitochondria, and ribosomes disintegrate as
they mature
b. Non-conducting cells:
i. Companion cells
> connected to the sieve-tube elements via
plasmodesmata
 > helps load sugar and supply proteins into
the sieve-tube
> supports the sieve-tube metabolically
> they perform metabolic processes for the
sieve-tube
ii. Phloem parenchyma
> stores food, metabolic processes, secretion
iii. Phloem fibers
> helps in support

III. Dermal Tissue System: outer protective covering against physical damages and
pathogens

Tissue types…
A. Epidermis (herbaceous)
> primary growth
> simple
> has cuticle: waxy coating on the epidermal surface to
prevent water loss
> is composed of simple dermal parenchyma
> one cell thick
> covers the primary plant body
> specialized cells:
1. Trichomes
- Hair-like outgrowth of the shoot epidermis
- Reduced H2O loss, reflects excess light
- Acts as defense releasing sticky fluids or toxic
compounds
2. Guard cells of stomata
- Pair of sausage cells
- Found in leaves and green stems
- For gas exchange and regulation of H2O and
ions
3. Root hairs
- Extracellular extensions (tubular) in roots
- Increase surface area for sufficient H2O
absorption
4. Bulliform cells
- Longitudinal rows of vacuolated cells (leaves
of certain plants)
B. Periderm (in woody plants)
> secondary growth
> the development of periderm destroys the epidermis
> different cell complexes
> replaces the epidermis in the regions of stem and roots
 > multilayered protective tissue system
> prevents H2O loss
> usually constitute the cork or phellem

OVERVIEW OF THE MERISTEMS AND PERMANENT TISSUES

Meristem
● Underdeveloped
● Plant cell division cite by mitosis
● Retain the ability to grow throughout its life span
● Function: formation of new cells
● Meristematic cells
○ Do not differentiate
○ Initials (undifferentiated)
○ Derivatives (differentiated)

Meristematic Growth
1. Primary growth
- Length
- Entire plant for herbaceous
- Young, soft shoot tips and root tips for woody trees and shrubs
 2. Secondary growth
- Widening
- Only gymnosperm and woody have extensive secondary growth
- Wood and bark
- Annuals have limited secondary growth

Primary Growth
● Apical Meristem
○ Primary growth (tips of roots and shoots)
○ Produces primary tissues
○ Continues to develop and differentiate
○ Root cap covers the root tip
■ Behind, in the area of cell division: root apical meristem
● composed of meristematic cells
● Small and boxy cells because they are continuously dividing
■ Behind the area of cell division: area of cell elongation
● Cells are growing longer pushing the root tips ahead of them, deeper into
the soil
● Some differentiation happens here (xylem and phloem)
● 3 primary meristem (immature tissues):
1. Protoderm (dermal)
> young, undifferentiated tissue of a root or stem that eventually
develops into epidermis
2. Procambium (vascular)
> develops into xylem and phloem
3. Ground meristem
> gives rise to cortex, pith, and ground tissues
■ Back from the tip: area of cell maturation
● Cells have completely differentiated and are fully mature
● Root hairs - 1:1 epidermal cells
■ Lateral branches
○ Shoot Apical Meristem (SAM)
■ Regularly arranged meristematic cells within every bud
■ Leaf primordia - developing leaves; covers and protects SAM
■ Bud primordia - developing buds
● Apical bud
● Axillary bud - active growing the lateral branches

Secondary Growth
● Lateral Meristem - cell division → secondary growth
○ Stem and roots (except tips)
○ Localized 2 lateral meristem - responsible for secondary growth
1. Vascular cambium
> layer that forms thin, continuously cylinder within the stem and roots
> between wood and bark of woody plants
 > cells divide adding more to wood (secondary xylem) and inner bark (secondary
phloem)
2. Cork cambium
> thin cylinder/irregular arrangement of meristematic cells in the outer bark
region
> divide to form cork cells towards cork parenchyma (storage)
● Collective cork cells, cork cambium, cork parenchyma → make up the periderm
(replicates the epidermis)

ROOTS
- Grow downward in the direction of gravity
- Anchorage - keeps them planted
- Absorbs water and dissolves minerals (products may be essential for synthesizing important
organic molecules)
- Conduction - distributed
- Storage - some roots (surplus carbohydrates

Root cap
- Covers the apical meristem/root tips
- Protective thumblike layer
- Many cells thick
- Secrete lubricant polysaccharides that reduce friction
- Grows downward
- When removed, apical meristem forms it again
- Fails to sense gravity as it grows
- Primary eudicot root
Root hair
- Extension of an epidermal cell that increase the absorptive capacity of the cell wall and surface
area
- Unicellular extensions near the growing root top of epidermal cells
- Short-lived
- Form continually in area of cell maturation
- Short and numerous
- Primary monocot root

Taproot System (support) Fibrous Root System

 Both adapted to obtain water in a variety of ways

- 1 prominent main root with smaller - Several adventitious root approximately

lateral roots branching from it equal size that arise from the base of the
stem

Advantage: Advantage:
- Penetrates deeply into the soil - Develops from stem
- Storage organ for food in some cases - Grasses
- Reach water in great depths - Forms a network to hold many soil
- Differentiated particles together
- Form a strong achor - Help prevent or reduce soil erosion
- Has lateral roots developing from main - monocot
stem
- More resistant to wind
- Dicots, gymnosperms

Disadvantage: Disadvantage:
- Does not develop from stem - Shallow
- Does not form a net to hold soil particles - Does not penetrate deeply into the soil
together - Does not act as a storage organ for food
- Can’t reach great depths of water
- Not differentiated
- Does not have lateral roots developing
from one main root

Grows underground rainwater

Primary eudicot
● Epidermis - absorption
● Cortex - stores starch
● Pith
● Xylem - conducts dissolved water and minerals; root to shoot
● Phloem - conducts dissolved sugars; shoot to root

Eudicot Monocot
 Epidermis
- Single layer
- No waxy cuticle

Cortex
- Loosely arranged parenchyma cells with large spaces
- storage

Endodermis
- Controls the amounts and kinds water that enters the xylem
> Casparian Strip - bond of waterproof material around the endodermis; ensures that H2O
and other materials enter only by the endodermal cells
> Symplast - continuum of living cytoplasm; connected from one cell to the next by
cytoplasmic connections (plasmodesmata)
> Apoplast - interconnected porous cells; water and other materials move freely

Stele (centermost) Pericycle

> Pericycle - outermost layer of stele, inside
endodermis; parenchyma cells which are
meristematic gives rise to lateral roots
> Xylem - centermost layer of stele
> Phloem - patches between or near xylem

Root hair → epidermis → cortex (symplast or * no vascular cambium *

apoplast) → endodermis → pericycle → xylem of
roots
* vascular cambium - between xylem and
phloem; gives rise to secondary tissues in woody
plants

Roots with Unusual Functions

● Adventitious Roots
○ Arise from stem nodes
○ Prop roots (develop from branches or from a vertical stem and grows downwards to help
support in an upright position)
○ Ex. corn
● Buttress Roots
○ Hold the trees upright and aid in the extensive distribution of shallow roots
● Pneumatophores
○ Assist in getting oxygen
● Contractile Roots
○ Grows into the soil then contracts
○ Necessary to prevent bulbs and corms from exposure
STEMS
- Links the root to the leaves
- Support leaves and reproductive structures
- Provide internal support by conducting water and dissolved minerals
- Produce new living tissues (grows continuously)
● Buds
○ Terminal bud (tip)
○ Axillary or lateral buds
● Nodes
○ Where leaves are attached
● Internodes
○ Regions between nodes
 Eudicot Monocot

Epidermis Cuticle

Cuticle Epidermis
- Waxy layer
- Reduces water loss
- Covers the epidermis

Cortex Phloem
- Several cells thick Xylem
- Parenchyma, collenchyma, and (not arranged)
sclerenchyma
- Photosynthesis, storage, support

Vascular Bundles (ring form) Vascular Bundle

- Xylem - Enclosed in a bundle sheath
- Phloem (sclerenchyma)
- Vascular cambium
> single layer of cell between the xylem
and phloem
- Lateral meristem
> responsible for secondary growth
* tracheids and vessel elements (in xylem) - help
support the plant
* fibers (xylem and phloem) - phloem fiber cap

Pith Cortex and Pith

- Ground tissue composed of large, thin- - Without or no distinct area
walled parenchyma cells for storage
* no distinct separation between pith and cortex * no lateral meristem *
and vascular bundles
* vascular cambium
- Secondary xylem (wood) - more
- Secondary phloem (inner bark) - less
* cork cambium (periderm or outer bark) -
replacement for epidermis
- Cork cells
- Cork parenchyma

Lenticels
- Area of the cork in which cells are loosely arranged for gas exchange in the periderm
- Replaces the stomata

Hardwood
- Wood of flowering plants
Softwood
- Wood of conifers
- Lack fiber and vessel elements
- Tracheids: conducting cell
Sapwood
- Part that conducts water
- Closest to the bark = younger
Heartwood
- Older, center
- Does not conduct = dead

Spring Wood
- Thinner
- Sunlight is not optimum (still adjusting from winter [hibernation]) = less materials produced
Late summerwood
- Thicker
- Sunlight is optimum = more materials produced = thicker

Vines
- Weak-stemmed plants
- Depend on others for support
- Grows rapidly

Modified Stems
- Asexual Reproduction
● Rhizome
○ Fleshiness
○ For storage
○ Horizontal underground stem
○ Tubers
■ Thickened ends
■ Fleshy for storage
● Bulb
○ Modified underground bud
● Corm
○ Underground stem for storage
● Stolons or runners
○ Horizontal aerial stem that grows along the ground surface
○ Long internodes
LEAVES
● Blade - broad, flat portion
● Petiole - stalk that attaches the leaves to its stem
● Stipules - leaflike present in pairs at the base of the petiole

Simple Compound
- Single blade - Blade with two or more leaflets

Leaf Arrangement
- Alternate - Opposite - Wholed

Veneration
- Parallel (monocot) - Pinnate (dicot) - Palmate
 ● Leaf blade
- Upper and lower surface of epidermal layer
- Parenchyma cells
- Transparent
- Cell wall facing outward are thicker (for protection)
- Cell wall facing inward are thinner
○ Cuticle
■ Reduces water loss
■ Cutin - waxy substance
○ Stomata (stoma)
■ Gas exchange
■ Guard cell
● Open and close the stoma
● Only epidermal cell with chloroplast
● Subsidiary cell (provides a reservoir of water and ions that move into and
out of the guard cell)
○ Trichomes
■ Hairlike
■ Help reduce water loss
■ Secrete different things (salt, stinging irritants)
○ Mesophyll
■ Between the upper and lower epidermis
■ Parenchyma cells packed with chloroplast
■ Loosely arranged to facilitate gas exchange (air space)
■ Palisade mesophyll
● Upper epidermis; photosynthesized
● Columnar cells stacked closely together
■ Spongy mesophyll
● Lower portion
● Loosely and irregularly arranged
● Diffusion of gases (CO2)
● Veins or Vascular Bundles
○ Xylem (upper) and phloem (lower)
○ Bundle sheath
■ Surrounds the vascular bundle
■ Support columns (bundle sheath extension)

Eudicot Leaf
- Usually broad and fattened blade with a petiole
- Netted venation
- Guard cells
Monocot Leaf
- Narrow; often lack petiole
- Parallel venation
- Guard cells
 ● Bulliform cells - large, thin-walled cells; rolling or folding of leaf during drought

Transpiration
- Loss of water vapor from aerial plants
- Stomata
- Responsible for water movement in plants
- Cools the leaves and stems
- Moves essential minerals upward
- Plants look tired (wilted) during the day and recover at night (temporary wilting)
* hydathodes - openings at the tip of the leaf veins; liquid water is forced
out = guttation ≠ dew at night

Leaf Abscission
- Shredding
- To survive winter season (slows or halts photosynthesis, no absorption needed)
- Abscission zone - thin-walled parenchyma cells; few fibers = weak

Modified Leaves
● Bud scales - covers and protects winter buds
● Spines - hard and pointed, desert plants, main organ for photosynthesis (cactus), for protection
● Bracts - flower but not really
● Tendrils - help keep vines attached to a structure
● Bulb - storage
● Carnivorous plants - lack minerals so they ingest plants (because they grow in poor soil)

Other Diagrams

Shoot Tip
Reproduction in Flowering Plants (Angiosperms)
Vegetative and Reproduction

Flowering Plants
- evolved version of these plants that are well adapted to environment that wants to propagate
successfully or colonize the land in more of efficient way
- more advanced since they are the ones utilizing different parameters and factors or styles to be
able to successfully produce progenies – offspring that are well adapted to the environment
- producing flowers and later producing fruits is way better than not producing flowers

Gymnosperms
- they do not produce flowers, they produce cones and seeds
Angiosperms
- very diverse group of plants that can produce flowers

Asexual VS Sexual
Asexual Reproduction
- results in new individuals genetically identical to the parent
- parent and all progeny are equally adapted to the habitat
- plants utilize different parts of its body to be able to produce an exact copy of itself (acellular
level)
- not good as it limits the diversity and can pass/produce genetical issue
Sexual Reproduction
- results in progeny that differ from each other genetically
- there is a range of fitness
- some progeny may have a combination of maternal and paternal genes that causes them to be
even better adapted than the parents
o hybrid – offspring is better than parents
- good as a plant can produce better characteristic/trait, it can be passed

In Angiosperms (Sexual Reproduction)

- involves flowers which produce the necessary cells and structures

Question: Do all plants photosynthesize? Answer is NO!

Floral Whorls
1. Sepals (calyx)
- always there; accessory parts
2. Petals (corolla)
- not always there; accessory parts
- serves as an invitation to pollinating
agents (bees)
3. Stamen (androecium)
- essential parts
- male reproduction structure
4. Carpel or pistil (gynoecium)
- essential parts
- female reproduction structure
Flower Parts

1. Calyx
- all sepals combined
2. Corolla
- all petals combined
3. Stamen
- the male reproductive part
- occurs surrounding the female reproductive structure
- Filament – supports the anther
- Anther
o produces pollen grains
o releases pollen grains to the environment during pollination
o pollen grains germinate, producing male gametes
4. Carpel or Pistil
- the female reproductive part
- occurs at the center of the flower
- Stigma – captures pollen grains; sticky for pollen to latch on it on top
- Style – middle
- Ovary – contains the ovule (ovule à seeds à baby plant)
- produces ovules
- ovules possess eggs inside the embryo sac
5. Receptacle
- supporting the flower
Carpel and Stamen Evolution
Carpel Evolution
- began as a modified leaf with sporangia – bears the spores

- leaf edges curled inward and finally fused trapping the sporangia

- next, sporangia connected into two

- formed a three-chambered ovary with three carpels (2 ovules/sporangia)

Stamen Evolution
- the leaflike portion of structure was progressively reduced until only the microscporangia
remained

Terms
Gynoecium
- all female parts of a flower
Pistil
- structure of ovary, style(s), and stigma(s)
Carpel
- conduplicate megasporophyll
- can be unit of pistil, if pistil compound (composed of >1 carpel)

Comparison of Gynoecium Terminology Using Carpel and Pistil

Gynoecium Carpel Pistil Examples
Single carpel Monocarpous A pistil (simple) Avocado (Persea sp.)
(unicarpellate) most legumes (Fabaceae)
gynoecium
Multiple distinct Apocarpous Pistils (simple) Strawberry (Fragaria sp.)
(“unfused”) carpels (choricarpous) Buttercup (Ranunculus
gynoceium sp.)
Multiple connate Syncarpous A pistil Tulip (Tulipa sp.)
(“fused”) carpels gynoecium (compound) Most flowers
Apo = separated

Gynoecial Development/Fusion:

Locule – space inside