plant structure

• Flowering plant structure


  • Roots
  • Stems
  • Leaves
  • Flowers
  • Vascular Structures
  • Fruits and Seeds

  
• Root system


  Underground root systems for anchorage and absorption of water and minerals
• Shoot system


  Shoot systems, which consist of stems, leaves, flowers and fruits

  
• Root types


  • Tap root
  • Fibrous root
• True root


  Develops from the radicle in the seed
• Adventitious root


  Roots that develop from any part of the plant that is not derived from the radicle, most often the stem

  
• Functions of roots


  • Anchorage
  • Uptake of water and minerals
  • Food storage
• Meristem


  Regions of active cell division by mitosis in plants
• Meristem locations


  • Apical meristem at shoot tip and root tip
  • Responsible for growth in length of stems, shoots and roots

  
• Plant tissues produced by meristems

  • Dermal tissue
  • Ground tissue
  • Vascular tissue

  
• Root tip zones


  • Zone of protection
  • Zone of cell production
  • Zone of elongation
  • Zone of differentiation
• Most stems are cylindrical in shape
• Nodes


  Points on the stem where leaves arise

  
• Internodes


  Length between successive nodes
• Bud types


  • Terminal/apical buds
  • Axillary buds
• Functions of the stem

  • Support
  • Transport
  • Food storage
  • Protection
• Outer stem parts


  • Terminal bud
  • Lateral bud
  • Lenticels
• Leaves are attached to the stem via a stalk called the petiole
• Lamina


  The flattened blade like portion of a leaf
• Midrib


  The larger vein running up the centre of a leaf
• Axil


  The angle formed between the petiole and the stem
• Functions of the leaf

  • Photosynthesis
  • Gas exchange
  • Transpiration
  • Food storage
  • Excretion
• Leaf venation types


  • Parallel
  • Netted or Reticulate

  
• Plant tissue types


  • Vascular
  • Dermal
  • Ground
  • Meristematic

  
• Xylem


  Transports water and minerals
• Phloem


  Transports food
• Xylem cell types


  • Xylem tracheids
  • Xylem vessels
• Phloem cell types


  • Sieve tubes
  • Companion cells
• Vascular bundles act as communication and transport links between different parts of the plant
• Cotyledon


  A seed leaf, a location within a seed where food is stored

  
• Cotyledon types


  • Monocotyledons (one seed leaf)
  • Dicotyledons (two seed leaves)

  
• Differences between monocots and dicots

  • Number of cotyledons
  • Arrangement of vascular bundles in the stem
  • Leaf venation
  • Number of flower parts
  • Woody or herbaceous