Plant Organs: Leaves

Chapter 8
“Typical”
Leaf
Blade

Veins

Petiole

Axillary bud

Stipules
Stem

Fig. 8-1, p. 152

 KEY TERMS

• BLADE
• Broad, flat part of a leaf

• PETIOLE
• Part of a leaf that attaches blade to stem
Leaf Morphology
 Simple Pinnately compound

Palmately
compound

California white oak Ohio buckeye

(Quercus lobata) White ash (Aesculus
(a) Leaf form: simple and compound. (Fraxinus americana) glabra)

Opposite
Alternate Whorled

American beech Sugar maple

(Fagus grandifolia) (Acer saccharum) Southern catalpa
(Catalpa bignonioides)
(b) Leaf arrangement on a stem.
Pinnately Palmately netted
netted
Parallel Sweetgum
(Liquidambar
Bermuda grass styraciflua)
(Cynodon dactylon)
Black willow Stepped Art
(c) Venation patterns. (Salix nigra)
Fig. 8-2, p. 154
 LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1

• Describe the major tissues of the leaf

(epidermis, mesophyll, xylem, and
phloem)

• Relate the structure of the leaf to its

function of photosynthesis
 KEY TERMS

• PHOTOSYNTHESIS
• The biological process that includes the
capture of light energy and its transformation
into chemical energy of organic molecules
(such as glucose), which are manufactured
from carbon dioxide and water
Tissues in a Leaf Blade
 Palisade
mesophyll
Vein Cuticle
(vascular
bundle) Upper
Spongy epidermis
mesophyll
Bundle
sheath

Xylem
Phloem
Stoma Air space in
spongy
mesophyll
Lower
Stoma Guard cells epidermis

Fig. 8-3, p. 155

 Epidermis

• The transparent epidermis allows light to

penetrate into the mesophyll, where
photosynthesis occurs
 KEY TERMS

• CUTICLE
• Waxy covering over epidermis of aerial parts
(leaves and stems) of a plant
• Enables the plant to survive in the dry
conditions of a terrestrial environment
Trichomes
 KEY TERMS
• STOMA
• Small pores in epidermis of stem or leaf
• Permit gas exchange for photosynthesis and
transpiration
• Flanked by guard cells

• GUARD CELL
• Two guard cells form a pore (stoma)
 Stomata

• Stomata typically open during the day,

when photosynthesis takes place, and
close at night
 KEY TERMS

• MESOPHYLL
• Photosynthetic ground tissue in the interior of
a leaf
• Contains air spaces for rapid diffusion of
carbon dioxide and water into, and oxygen out
of, mesophyll cells
 Vascular Bundle

• Leaf veins have

• xylem to conduct water and essential
minerals to the leaf
• phloem to conduct sugar produced by
photosynthesis to rest of plant
 KEY TERMS

• BUNDLE SHEATH
• One or more layers of nonvascular cells
(parenchyma or sclerenchyma) surrounding
the vascular bundle in a leaf
Bundle Sheath Extensions
Upper epidermis
Bundle sheath
extension

Bundle sheath

Midvein

Bundle sheath
extension
Lower epidermis

Fig. 8-5, p. 157

Leaf Cross Sections
Leaf Cross Sections
 Upper epidermis

Midvein Palisade
mesophyll
Lengthwise
view of vein
Spongy
mesophyll
Privet
Air space
Lower
epidermis
Stoma
Xylem Phloem

(a) Privet (Ligustrum vulgare), a eudicot, has a mesophyll with

distinct palisade and spongy sections.

Fig. 8-6a, p. 158

 Bundle sheath cells
Midvein
Parallel vein Mesophyll

Upper
epidermis

Lower
Phloem epidermis
Xylem

Fig. 8-6b, p. 158

 LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2

• Contrast leaf structure in eudicots and

monocots
 Monocot and Eudicot Leaves
• Monocot leaves
• Usually narrow
• Wrap around the stem in a sheath
• Have parallel venation

• Eudicot leaves
• Usually have a broad, flattened blade
• Have netted venation
 Bulliform Cells

• Large, thin-walled cells on upper

epidermises of leaves of certain monocots
(grasses)
• Located on both sides of the midvein
• May help leaf roll or fold inward during
drought
Bulliform
Cells
(a) A folded leaf blade.
The inconspicuous Bulliform
bulliform cells occur in cells
the upper epidermis
on both sides of the
midvein.
Midvein

Fig. 8-7a, p. 159

 Bulliform
cells
(b) An expanded leaf
blade. A higher
Mesophyll
magnification of the
cell
midvein region shows
the enlarged, turgid Midvein
bulliform cells.

Fig. 8-7b, p. 159

Variation in Guard Cells
 Open Closed

Guard Subsidiary
cells cells

(a) Guard cells of eudicots and many monocots

are bean shaped.
Fig. 8-8a, p. 160
 Open Closed

Guard Subsidiary
cells cells

(b) Some monocot guard cells (those of grasses, reeds, and

sedges) are narrow in the center and thicker at each end.
Fig. 8-8b, p. 160
Fig. 8-8d, p. 160
 LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3

• Outline the physiological changes that

accompany stomatal opening and
closing
 Stomatal Opening 1

1. Blue light activates proton pumps

• in guard-cell plasma membrane

2. Protons (H+) are pumped out of guard

cells, forming a proton gradient
• Charge and concentration difference on two
sides of the guard-cell plasma membrane
 KEY TERMS

• PROTON GRADIENT
• Difference in concentration of protons on the
two sides of a cell membrane
• Contains potential energy that can be used to
form ATP or do work in the cell
 Stomatal Opening 2

3. Gradient drives facilitated diffusion of

potassium ions into guard cells

4. Chloride ions also enter guard cells

through ion channels
• Ions accumulate in vacuoles of guard cells
• Solute concentration becomes greater than
that of surrounding cells
 KEY TERMS

• FACILITATED DIFFUSION
• Diffusion of materials from a region of higher
concentration to a region of lower
concentration through special passageways in
the membrane
 Stomatal Opening 3

• 5. Water enters guard cells from

surrounding epidermal cells by osmosis
• Increased turgidity changes the shape of
guard cells, causing stoma to open
Stomatal Opening
1 Blue light 2 Protons are 3 Potassium 4 Chloride ions 5 Water enters
activates pumped ions enter also enter guard guard cells by
proton out of guard guard cells cells through osmosis,and
pumps. cells, through ion channels. stoma opens.
forming proton voltage-
gradient. activated ion
channels.

Fig. 8-9, p. 162

 Stomatal Closing
• As evening approaches, sucrose
concentration in guard cells declines
• Sucrose is converted to starch (osmotically
inactive)

• Water leaves by osmosis, guard cells lose

their turgidity, pore closes
Adaptations to Environment
Blade Petiole

Fig. 8-10, p. 163

Guard cells of
sunken stoma

Epidermis and cuticle

Resin duct

Endodermis
Xylem Vascular
Phloem bundle
Mesophyll cell
(photosynthetic
parenchyma cell)

Fig. 8-11, p. 164

 LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4

• Discuss transpiration and its effects on

the plant
 KEY TERMS

• TRANSPIRATION
• Loss of water vapor from a plant’s aerial parts
 Transpiration

• Occurs primarily through stomata

• Rate of transpiration is affected by

environmental factors
• temperature, wind, relative humidity

• Both beneficial and harmful to the plant

Transpiration
 75%
Water recycled
by transpiration
and
evaporation

25% Water
seeps into
ground or
runs off
to rivers, streams,
and lakes

p. 165
Wilting
Guttation
 LEARNING OBJECTIVE 5

• Define leaf abscission

• Explain why it occurs and what

physiological and anatomical changes
precede it
 KEY TERMS

• ABSCISSION
• Normal (usually seasonal) falling off of leaves
or other plant parts, such as fruits or flowers
 Leaf Abscission

• In temperate climates, most woody plants

with broad leaves shed leaves in fall
• Helps them survive low temperatures of winter

• Involves physiological and anatomical

changes
 Processes of Abscission 1

• As autumn approaches, plant reabsorbs sugar

• essential minerals are transported out of leaves

• Chlorophyll is broken down

• red water-soluble pigments are synthesized and
stored in vacuoles of leaf cells (in some species)
 Processes of Abscission 2

• A protective layer of cork cells develops on

the stem side of the abscission zone
• Area where leaf petiole detaches from stem,
composed primarily of thin-walled
parenchyma cells
 Processes of Abscission 3

• Enzymes dissolve middle lamella in

abscission zone
• (“cement” that holds primary cell walls of
adjacent cells together)

• After leaf detaches, protective layer of cork

seals off the area, forming a leaf scar
Abscission Zone
Axillary bud

Bud scales

Petiole

Abscission
zone

Stem

Fig. 8-14, p. 167

 LEARNING OBJECTIVE 6

• List at least five modified leaves, and

give the function of each
 KEY TERMS

• BUD SCALE
• Modified leaf that covers and protects delicate
meristematic tissue of winter buds

• SPINE
• Leaf modified for protection, such as a cactus
spine
 KEY TERMS
• BRACT
• Modified leaf associated with a flower or
inflorescence but not part of the flower itself

• TENDRIL
• Leaf or stem that is modified for holding on or
attaching to objects
• Supports weak stems
 KEY TERMS

• BULB
• A rounded, fleshy, underground bud that
consists of a short stem with fleshy leaves
• Specialized for storage
 Leaf
Modifications
Fig. 8-15a, p. 168
Fig. 8-15b, p. 168
Fig. 8-15c, p. 168
Fig. 8-15d, p. 168
Fig. 8-15e, p. 168
Fig. 8-15f, p. 168
 Epiphytes
• Flowerpot Plant
 Stem

Pot (modified
leaf)

(a) The leaves of the flowerpot plant (Dischidia

rafflesiana) are modified to hold water and organic
material carried in by ants.

Fig. 8-16a, p. 169

Fig. 8-16b, p. 169
 Root

(b) A cutaway view of a pot removed from

a plant reveals the special root that absorbs
water and dissolved minerals inside the pot.
Fig. 8-16b, p. 169
 Carnivorous Plants
• Leaves modified to trap insects
Animation: Monocot and
Dicot Leaves

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Animation: Stomata

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Animation: Leaf Organization

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Animation: Simple and
Compound Leaves

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