The Primary Body of the Plant

Primary Meristems, Growth and

Tissues
 Primary growth
• Involves the extension of the plant body and
formation of the primary tissues
• The part of the plant body composed of primary
tissues is called the primary plant body
• Growth is an irreversible increase in size
accomplished by cell division and cell enlargement
Primary meristems Primary Tissues
Epidermis
Protoderm (dermal TS)
Ground
Apical meristem Ground tissues(parenchyma,
meristem collenchyma,
sclerenchyma) (ground
Procambium TS)
Primary xylem, primary
phloem (vascular TS)
 Major Tissue Systems
• Dermal Tissue System
• Vascular Tissue System
• Ground Tissue System
 Primary Tissues of the Leaf
• Dermal tissue system:
– Upper epidermis covered with cuticle
– Lower epidermis
– Stomata
– Trichomes
• Vascular tissue system
– Mid-vein
– Minor veins
– Xylem and Phloem
• Ground tissue system
– Palisade mesophyll
– Spongy mesophyll

The leaf is well adapted for its function

 Primary Tissues of the Root
• Apical meristem
– Promeristem
– Protoderm
– Ground meristem
– Procambium
• Dermal tissue system
– Epidermis
– Root hairs
• Ground tissue system
– Cortex
• Vascular tissue system
– Primary xylem Central stele
– Primary phloem
Apical Meristem of the Root
Primary Tissues of the Root
 Primary Tissues of the Stem
• Primary meristem
– Promeristem / Apical meristem
– Protoderm
– Ground meristem
– Procambium
• Dermal tissue
– Epidermis
• Vascular tissue
– Primary xylem and phloem – in vascular bundles
• Ground tissue
– Cortex and pith
Primary tissues of the stem
 Vascular Tissue Arrangements
• Protostele: vascular tissue lies at the centre of the
organ.
• Eustele: pith/ground tissue lies at the centre and
vascular tissue is arranged in vascular bundles.
• Vascular bundles:
o Collateral: primary phloem lies to the outside of
the primary xylem.
o Bicollateral: primary phloem lies on both sides of
the primary xylem
Vascular bundle
Protostele vs Eustele
Collateral vs Bicollateral VB
 Development of lateral roots
• Lateral root primordia are initiated in the
pericycle
• Cells at particular spot become meristematic,
divide both anticlinally and periclinally to form
a mass of cells that push through the cortex
establishing a new apical meristem

• Vascular tissues differentiate in the new

apical meristem and connect with those in
the older root.
 Development of axillary buds
• Stem branches develop from axillary buds;
such buds develop just behind the apical
meristem in the axil of the leaf primordium
• axillary buds are formed in two ways;
• the apical meristem grows away from the leaf
primordium

• Method 1: the cells around the axil of the leaf

primordium vacuolate or their vacuoles
increase in size, they differentiate; leaving a
group of meristematic cells in the axil – axillary
meristem
• This meristem becomes an apical meristem and
produces its own derivatives
 Method 2
• All cells in the primodial leaf axil become
vacuolated; then those in the centre of the
axil lose their vacuoles and become
meristematic; this meristem becomes the
apical meristem of the branch

• Proleptic buds: the newly formed apical

meristem does not immediately develop into a
branch – suppressed by apical dominance.
• Sylleptic buds: the newly formed apical
meristem immediately divides into a branch.
• In plants that show apical dominance, the
newly formed axillary bud is suppressed by
the main apical meristem and does not
develop further (quiescent); they only start to
develop when the apical meristem is far away
or when it is dead; such buds are called
proleptic buds
• In plants that do not show apical dominance,
the axillary buds develop immediately without
interruption and are called sylleptic buds