palisade mesophyll cells

• chloroplasts near to edge of cell to... absorb more light
• cylindrical shape= larger surface area
• their thin walls allow light to penetrate easily into the leaf, so that photosynthesis can take place efficiently.
• palisade mesophyll cells are cylindrical because they have a large surface area which allows them to absorb lots of carbon dioxide from air spaces between leaves.
• large vacuole to store sugar and starch
• thin cell walls to let light through
• large number of chloroplasts to increase rate of photosynthesis
• long and narrow gaps between palisade cells for air to circulate for gas exchange
• ...

  A) cell wall

  B) cell surface membrane

  C) vacuole

  D) cytoplasm

  E) nucleus

  F) chloroplast