Exercise 15

The Anatomy of the Leaf

Drawings:
1. The Structure of the Dorsi-ventral Leaf:

Cuticle
Epidermis
Chloroplast

Palisade Parenchyma
Xylem
Vascular Bundle Sheath Phloem
Spongy Parenchyma

Guard Cell Mesophyll

Stomata (Pore)

2. The Structure of an Isobilateral Leaf:

Upper Epidermis Cuticle

Palisade Parenchyma
Xylem
Bundle Sheath Mesophyll
Phloem Spongy Parenchyma
Stomata
Lower Epidermis Guard Cell

3. Special Secretory Cells:

Locate in the sub-dermal or mesophyll portion of Eucalyptus leaf oil glands. They are made
up of cavities lined with flattened cells. Draw and label.

Cuticle Epithelial Cells

Palisade Mesophyll Oil Gland

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 Look for tannin cells in the vascular bundle (xylem). These are cells with pigmented tannins.
Draw.

Tannins

Scrape the epidermal trichomes of basil. Study under the HPO. These secretory cells are
termed as glandular trichomes. Draw.

Questions:
1. Which tissue of the leaf is actively performing photosynthesis?
In plants, the process of photosynthesis takes place in the mesophyll tissue of the
leaves.

2. What is the role of the intercellular spaces?

The intercellular spaces are important for gas exchange and water transport, some
movements (i.e., sensitive plants - water moves into/out of theses spaces; nyctinastic
movements - sleep movements) and freezing protection (i.e., water moves out of cells into the
spaces to minimize cellular damage on freezing.

3. The location of the intercellular spaces is strategic in terms of the movement of CO2.
Describe this basing on the dorsi-ventral location.
The exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in dorsi-ventral leaves takes place in the
intercellular spaces in the spongy mesophyll and occurs through the stomata. Normally, stomata
open when the light strikes the leaf in the morning where CO2 is absorbed and oxygen is
released, whereas stomata close during the night and the opposite happens.

4. What tissues make the midrib useful for conduction?

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 Midrib is the primary vein that consists of vascular tissue that carries water, nutrients,
and food that the plant makes, to and from every cell of the leaf. It is responsible for food
nutrients and water conduction
.
5. What is the tissue that mechanically supports the midrib?
Collenchyma tissue provides support, structure, mechanical strength, and flexibility to
the midrib, allowing for easy bending without breakage.
6. Through what structures CO2 enters the leaf?
CO2 can enter the leaf through stomata.

7. Give the chemical composition of the secretions of the glands of Eucalyptus leaf.
The sub-dermal secretory cavities (glands) embedded within the leaves
Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) were once thought to be the exclusive repositories of monoterpene and
sesquiterpene oils. In particular, glands of four species in subgenus Eucalyptus contain the
biologically active flavanone pinocembrin.

8. Give the chemical composition of the glandular trichomes of Ocimum.

Comprehension and comparison of results of GC-MS analysis of essential oils showed
that most of the Ocimum (O. basilicum, O. tenuiflorum, and O. gratissimum) species produce
phenylpropanoids (eugenol, methyl chavicol) as major volatiles except O. kilimandscharicum,
which is discrete in being monoterpenoid-rich species. Among the phenylpropanoid-enriched
Ocimum (O. basilicum, O. gratissimum, O. tenuiflorum purple, O. tenuiflorum green) as well,
terpenoids were important constituents in imparting characteristic aroma. Further, comparative
abundance of transcripts of key genes of phenylpropanoid (PAL, C4H, 4CL, CAD, COMT, and ES)
and terpenoid (DXS and HMGR) biosynthetic pathways was evaluated vis-à-vis volatile oil
constituents.

References:

Maurya, Shiwani & Chandra, Muktesh & Yadav, Ritesh & Narnoliya, Lokesh & Sangwan, Rajender &
Bansal, Shilpi & Sandhu, Pankajpreet & Singh, Umesh & Kumar, Devendra & Sangwan, Neelam.
(2019). Interspecies comparative features of trichomes in Ocimum reveal insights for
biosynthesis of specialized essential oil metabolites. Protoplasma. 256. 10.1007/s00709-018-
01338-y.

Goodger, Jason & Seneratne, Samiddhi & Nicolle, Dean & Woodrow, Ian. (2016). Foliar Essential Oil
Glands of Eucalyptus Subgenus Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) Are a Rich Source of Flavonoids and
Related Non-Volatile Constituents. PloS one. 11. e0151432. 10.1371/journal.pone.0151432.

https://employees.csbsju.edu/ssaupe/biol327/Lecture/cells.htm#:~:text=The%20intercellular%20spaces
%20are%20important,minimize%20cellular%20damage%20on%20freezing.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agriculturalandbiologicalsciences/collenchyma#:~:text=Colle
nchyma%20tissue%20is%20composed%20by,for%20easy%20bending%20without%20breakage.

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01842.x

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