BIOLOGY REVIEWER

Term 1 | Plant cell types, Cycles 1 and 2 | Reviewer by: Kirk Crisostomo (Instagram: @kkcrstmo)

GROUND TISSUE CELLS

● Ground tissue cells → Make up the majority of the herbaceous plant
which consists of: PAREnchyma, COLLEnchyma, SCLEREnchyma.

| PARENCHYMA [Majority of plant tissue]

● This type of ground tissue cells is the
most abundant and takes care of any
plant injuries.
○ Alive at maturity, has Thin cell
walls, and has the ability to
divide

○ Functions: Photosynthesis,
respiration, gas exchange,
storage of starch and other materials.
○ Autotroph → Plants which can create their own food
○ Heterotroph → Plant which cannot create their own food

| COLLENCHYMA
● Collenchyma has elongated living cells. They
also have thicker cell walls compared to
parenchyma.

○ Function: Elastic support

| SCLERENCHYMA [Made up of Lignin → Adds strength]

● Inelastic support to non-growing plant parts.
They are dead at maturity (meaning they
stopped dividing cells,, stop the car na!)
 ○ Has the thickest cell walls (thick secondary cell walls)
○ Lignin → Tough, complex molecule that adds strength to cell
walls.

CONDUCTING CELLS IN XYLEM AND PHLOEM

● Vascular tissues (transportation) → They transport water, minerals,
carbohydrates, and other dissolved compounds throughout the
plant. (Grab driver yarn?!)

XYLEM (Water Transportation)

● Tracheids → Long, narrow cells that
overlap at their tapered ends. Water
moves from one tracheid to another
tracheid through pits.
○ Pits → Thin areas of the cell wall

● Vessel Elements→ Short, wide, barrel

shaped. Has a “stacked” end-to-end
which forms long, continuous tubes.
○ On the sides of the vessel elements, this is where we can find
the pits (transpo of water). Hence, mas faster yung flow ng
water in vessel elements !!
PHLOEM (Food Transportation)
● Sieve Tube Element (Transports food)→ Main conducting cells of
phloem. Align end-to-end to form a sieve tube,, they are alive but no
nucleus and little cytoplasm.

● Companion cell (Nourishes food) → Adjacent to sieve tube element.

A companion cell is a specialized parenchyma cell. [Provide energy
and proteins]
○ Transfer carbohydrates in and out of the sieve tube elements.

DETERMINATE AND INDETERMINATE GROWTH

● Determinate → Plants that stop growing after they reach their
mature size.
● Indeterminate → Plants that continue to grow as long as the
environmental conditions allow it. [Examples: Vines, Tomato
varieties]

MERISTEMS
● Regions that undergo active mitotic cell division. Patches of
“immortality” that allow a plant to grow, replace changed parts, and
respond to environmental change.

| TYPES OF MERISTEMS
APICAL MERISTEMS → Small patches of
actively dividing cells
a. Shoot Apical Meristem (Top/tip of the
plant)
● The primary growth of a plant →
increases in length by adding more
cells.
● Lengthens the shoot or root tip by
adding cells. (New cells originate at the
apical meristems) New leaves
originate on the flanks of the meristem
 ● When a shoot loses its terminal bud, cells in one or more dormant
axillary buds begin to divide.
b. Root Apical Meristem (Bottom part of
the plant)
● Some of the cells produced
at this meristem
differentiate into the root
cap. Other cells elongate
by absorbing water from
the roots.
○ Thick because they
need to dig in the soil
to ensure the plant’s
stability. (Root cap→
ensures to protect the roots for better in deep
penetration)
■ Cell Enlargement → Roots grows faster into
the soil
■ Area of cell division → produce more cells to
help the plant grow
■ Area of maturation → Causing to have root
hairs (to increase the surface area for more
nutrients #SlayForthePlant)

LATERAL MERISTEMS → Produces thin layer between primary xylem and phloem
● Vascular Cambium (Internal cylinder of meristem tissue)
● Secondary growth → increases girth of stems and roots in woody
plants.
CORK CAMBIUM
● Gives rise to parenchyma to the inside
and cork to the outside.
○ CORK- densely packed, waxy
cells on the surfaces of mature
stems and roots (waterproof,
insulating) → dead at maturity
and form layers

● Heartwood → INNERmost (Kase heart

to heart,, nasa loob yung heart) and
darker (Darker since has alot of
nutrients focused on one small area,,
compacted)
○ Gradually becomes unable to
conduct water through time
○ Dark-colored chemicals
accumulate

● Sapwood → OUTER portion, lighter

○ Transports water and dissolved minerals

DERMAL TISSUE
● Covers the plant → Herbaceuous plant
 ○ Epirdermis- Single layer of packed, flat, transparent,
parenchyma cells
○ Woody plant, tough bark

○ CUTICLE (Nail polish yarn?)→ Waxy layer that coats the

epidermis of the leaves and stem.
○ Conserves water and protects the plant from predators
(fungi)
■ Imperemeable not only to water but also to CO2 and O2

STOMATA
● Pores through which leaves and stems exchange gases with the
atmosphere
○ GUARD CELL → Surrounds stomata and controls its opening
and closing (Guard=tagabantay=tagabantay ng opening and
closing ng gate parang ganon)

PLANT ORGANS
● Plants are made up of different organs like us, humans.
○ Plants that are flowering → Angiosperms
○ If not flowering → Gymnosperms

ROOTS
● Organ that anchors vascular plants in the soil, absorbs minerals
and water, and often stores carbohydrates and other reserves.
○ Pneumatophores → Are exposed since they need oxygen
○ Buttress roots → More stability to the tree
○ Prop roots → Mostly for stabilization, found in areas that has
high-tide and low-tide
○ Strangling aerial roots → To become more stable, they grow
roots around surfaces

FUNCTIONS OF ROOTS
● Anchorage, storage of food and materials, growth
● Absorption (uptake) and conduction (movement) of water and
mineral nutrients to the abovegournd parts of the plants
 ● Symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria
● Prodction of gibberllins, hormones that stimulate the growth of stems

THE TAPROOT SYSTEM (Dicot Plant)

● Has a large primary root and smaller lateral roots
● Primary roots → grow straight downward and become the
dominant root of the plant.
● Some are fleshy and store food.
● Dicot plants are bigger compared to monocot
○ Plants under this group are called DICOT PLANTS. Dicot
plants have a star or cross vascular bundle arrangement
[Examples: Mango tree, Gumamela, carrots, radishes]

THE FIBROUS ROOT SYSTEM (Monocot Plant)

● Primary root dies and many slender secondary roots arise from
the base of the stem
● The sizes of the roots are similar
○ Plants under this group are called MONOCOT PLANTS.
Monocot Plants have its Xylem and Phloem all over the
place. [Examples: Grasses, corn, bamboo]

ROOT ANATOMY (Parts)

● Epidermis → Outer layer thin-walled,
rectangular cells that act as protective
covering
 ● Cortex → Thin walled parenchyma cells that functions in food
storage

● Endodermis→ Boundary between cortex and the vascular cylinder

● Pericycle → First layer of cells within the endodermis. This is the

starting point of lateral roots

● Vascular Tissue → Both mobocots and dicots have vascular

cylinders that contain xylem and phloem
○ Dicot → Xylem has a star/cross-shaped and phloem is found
between points in the star
○ Monocot → Alternating xylem and phloem that surround a
pith

GROWTH ZONES OF A ROOT

● Root cap → Covers and protects root tip and releases CO2 that
combines with water forming carbonic acid.

● Zone of Cell Division (Cell NUMBER increases) → Contains

meristematic cells (actively dividing cells), newly formed cells are
added to root cap

● Zone of Elongation (Cell SIZE increases)→ Cells become longer as

they become specialized and is responsible for the increase in the
length of roots

● Zone Maturation → Mature and fully differentiated cells

ROOT MODIFICATIONS
1. BUTTRESS ROOTS → Add architectural support to the trunks of trees.
2. PROP ROOTS → Provide extra mechanical support to the plant and
increased absorption rate
3. EPIPHYTES → (AERIAL PLANTS ) green roots for photosynthesis, roots
for climbing, roots for capturing moisture; support (Example:
Orchids, English Ivy, Tinospora cordifolia)
 4. PNEUMATOPHORS→ Specialized root of some trees grow up into the
air, allowing oxygen to diffuse in (Ex: Mangrove)
5. ROOT SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS→ Symbiotic interactions with soil
bacteria or fungi that increase a plant’s ability to absorb water and
materials
6. STORAGE ROOTS→ Some roots are enlarged and store large
quantities of starch
7. PARASITIC ROOTS→ Some roots absorb nourishment from the host
plant

ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF ROOTS

● Source of income
● Food source
● Medicinal source
● Soil preservation

STEM
● The organ bearing leaves and buds.
It elongates and orients the shoot in
a way that maximizes
photosynthesis by the leaves.
○ Lateral (Side) → branches
grow from a lateral bud,
located at the angle where the
leaf joins the stem
○ Node → is the location where
leaves, or the buds for
branches, are attached to the stem
○ Internode → Region between nodes

FUNCTIONS OF STEMS
● Attatchments for leaves, flowers, and fruits
● Conduction of water and mineral from the roots to all parts of the
plant
● Storage of nutrients, organic molecules
● Contains meristematic tissues for cell production
PARTS OF A STEM
● Terminal Buds → Contains the shoot tip proetected by modified
leaves call bud scales (buds serves as protection)

● Node → Points of attctahments for leaves

● Internode→ Space between nodes

● Axillary bud → Embryonic shoot that lies at the junction of the stem
and petiole that gives rise to a branch
● Lenticels→ Small raised areas where gas exchange in woody stem
(for other plants have lenticels in roots)

ANATOMY OF NON-WOODY STEM

● Epidermis → Covered by a
waxy cuticle to prevent water
loss

● Cortex → Fills the area

between the epirdermis and
vascular tissue

● Vacular Bundles → Scattered in monocots, single ring in dicots

● Pits→ Occupies the center in dicots, lacking in arrangement in

monocots

ANATOMY OF WOODY STEM

● Bark→ Contains cork, cork cambium, cortex, and phloem

● Cork Cambium→ Lateral meristem that produce cork cells and

replace the epidermis
 ○ Produces Cork Cells→ Consists of densely packed dead cells
with waxy walls called suberin (FOUND IN CORK CELLS)
Protects, insulates, and waterproofs the surface of the stem.

● Vascular Cambium→ Lateral meristem that produces most of the

diameter of stem
○ Produces Vascular Cells

● Secondary Xylem→ Cell that matures inside the vascular cambium

● Secondary Phloem→ Cell that matures inside the vascular

cambium

● Wood→ Secondary xylem that builds up year after year

○ Summer Wood→ secondary xylem that produce cells with
lower proportion of vessels
○ Spring Wood→ secondary xylem that contains wide vessels
with thin walls produce by vascular cambium during spring

ANATOMY OF A TREE TRUNK

● HEARTwood→ OLDER!!! layers of secondary xylem that no longer

transport water and minerals

● SAPwood→ NEWER!!!, outer layers of secondary xylem that still

transport xylem sap

STEM MODIFICATIONS
1. STOLONS (Runner)→ Horizontal stems that sprout from an existing
stem and grow aboveground forming roots ( Ex: Strawberry)

2. RHIZOMES→ Thickened, underground horizontal stems that

produce shoots and roots. Survive winter and contriubute to asexual
reproduction (Example: Ginger)
 3. TUBERS→ Swollen regions of rhizomes or stolons that stores starch
(Example: Potatoes are tubers and the potato “eyes” are buds that
mark the nodes)

4. CORMS → Bulbous underground stems that lie dormant during

winter

5. SUCCELENTS→ Specialized photosynthetic stem for water storage

(Example: Cactus)

6. THORNS→ Thorns are modified branches appearing as hard,

woody, sharp outgrowths that protect the plant. (Example: Roses)

7. TENDRILS→ Allow a plant to climb from the forest floor to the

canopy, maximizing its exposure to sunlight

ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF ROOTS

● Food
● Shelter
● Clothing
● Source of income
● Medicine

LEAVES
● Main photosynthetic organ that exchanges gases with the
atmosphere, dissipates heat, and defends themselves from
herbivores and pathogens. → Main site for transpiration

CHARACTERISTICS OF LEAVES
● Leaf is a lateral appendage of the stem, it is born at the node of the
stem. → it is exogenous in origin, has limited growth, does not
possess apical bud
○ Three main parts: leaf base, petiole, and lamina

FUNCTIONS OF LEAVES
● Manufactures food through photosynthesis
 ● Site for gas exchange
● Evaporation of water through transpiration
● Protection of buds

PARTS OF LEAVES
● Blade → It is a large, flat
part of the leaf where
photosynthesis occurs
● Apex → Tip of the leaf
● Margin → Edge of the leaf
● Veins → Carry food/water
throughout the leaf
● Midrib → Thick, large single
vein along the midline of
the leaf
● Petiole → The stalk that that
joins the leaf to the stem
● Stipule→ The small, leaf-like appendage to a leaf, usually found in
pairs at the base of the petiole

LEAF SHAPES
● Compound leaf → the blades
consist of multiple leaflets
(they grow more compared to
simple leaf)
● Simple leaf → has a single,
undivided blade. Some
simple leaves are deeply
lobed.

LEAF ARRANGEMENTS
● Alternate → Attached singly
(attatched on alternating sides
along the twig)
● Opposite → attached to the twig in
opposing pairs
 ● Whorled → attached in clusters of three or more

LEAF VENATION
● Reticulate → if veins branch and re-branch into an elaborate
networks (dicots)
● Parallel → all visible veins run side by side for length of the leaf
(monocots)

LEAF ANATOMY (PARTS)

● Leaf Epidermis
○ Cuticle → helps keep it dying out
○ Stomata → opening where gas exchange occurs
○ Guard cells → regulate the opening and closing of the stomata

● Leaf Vascular tissue

○ Vein→ provides support for the leaf and transport substances
○ Xylem→ transports water and minerals from roots to leaves
○ Phloem→ transports sugar from one part of the plant to
another

● Leaf ground tissue

○ Mesophyll→ parenchyma cells that is sandwiched between
upper and lower epidermis for photosynthesis
■ Palisade mesophyll (upper)→ consists of one or more
layers of ELONGATED AND IMPACTED
■ Spongy mesophyll (lower)→ consists of LOSELY
ARRANGED, CIRCULAR OR IREGGULARLY SHAPED.

● Stomata arrangement
○ Monocots→ Stomatas are present on both sides (for better
gas exchange)
○ Dicots → typically most abundant on the lower surface
LEAF MODIFICATIONS
1. TENDRILS→ Tendrils and hooks are leaves modified to attach a plant
for suppoirt

2. SPINES→ The spines of cactus are leaves that protect the fleshy stem
from herbivores (Example: Cactus)

3. BULB → A bulb consists of a short, flattened stem encased in

overlapping layers of thickened modified leaves called scale → Use
to store food (Example: Onion)

4. BRACTS→ Leaves in some species are modified to have different

colors and look like petals (to attract pollinators) (Example:
Bougainvilla, Poinsettia)

5. STICKY TRICHOMES→ For trapping, acts as triggers, and secrete

digestive enzymes. (Carnivorous plant species) (Example: Drosera
anglica, Venus flytrap, picther plant)

6. PLANTLETS→ Some plant species produce tiny, identical plantlets,

each of which may fall to the ground and take root (Example:
Mother of thousands)

LEAF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

● Food
● Medicine
● Industry
● Dyes
● fibers