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Flowering Plants

Introduction:

There are more than 260,000 species of plants. They can be divided into two groups:
1. Nonvascular plants and
2. Vascular plants:

3.

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Vascular Plants

Non Vascular Plants

Have a system of tubes (vascular tissues)


Mostly grow taller or can also be any size

Lack of tubes or vascular tissues (Simplest


types of plants)
Grow close to the ground (small in size)

Do have roots, stems and leaves

Dont have roots, stems and leaves

Water and nutrients move through specialized


tissues called vascular tissues (vascular
bundles):
a. Xylem: transport water from roots
throughout the plant
b. Phloem: transports food from leaves
throughout the plant to either growing
regions of the plant or storage center.
Live in dry areas

Depend on diffusion and osmosis to move


water and nutrients move from cell to cell

Are divided into seedless and seeded plants

Also known as Bryophyta

Examples:
1. Seedless plants:
a. Ferns
b. Horsetails
2. Seeded plants:
a. Flowering plants (Angiosperms) and
b. Non flowering plants (Gymnosperms)

Live in damp (moist) shady places

Examples: Mosses, liverworts and hornworts

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Seed leaves (cotyledons)

One seed-leaf (one


cotyledon)

Flower (floral parts)

Multiples in three

Dicots
Have netted veins ( network
leaf veins)
Two seed-leaves (two
cotyledons: storage tissue
for the embryo)
Multiples of four or five

Roots

Develop in an unusual
places (e.g. fibrous root)
Vascular bundles in the
stem are scattered
Cone seed

Develop at the radical (e.g.


taproot)
Vascular bundles in the
stem are in rings
Bean seed

Leaves

Stems
Examples

Monocots
Have parallel leaf veins

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Plant Structure and Function


Leaf Structure and Function:
External Structure of the Leaf
1. Leaf blade (lamina): is the large broad and green surface of the leaf. It gives a
large surface for light absorption.
2. Petiole (leaf stalk): attaches the leaf to the rest of the plant
3. Midrib (main vein): is the main central vein in the leaf which arises from the
petiole.
4. Veins: branch from the midrib which forms
network structure. Veins are vascular bundles
which contains xylem and phloem.
Functions of the leaf veins:
a. Deliver water and salts to the leaf cells.
b. Carry away the photosynthetic products
c. Form network structure that supports
the softer tissues of the leaf blade.
5. Leaf margin: is the edge of the leaf.
6. Leaf apex (tip): is the terminal part of the leaf.

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Internal Structure of the Leaf


o When the leaf is cut in transverse
section (cross-section) and seen
under a microscope, the below
layers of cells is seen:
1. Cuticle:
- Cuticle is found on the upper
surface of the leaf when cut in
transverse section.
- Cuticle is made up of wax which
acts as a water proofing for the
leaf.
- Cuticle is secreted by cells the cells of the upper epidermis.
- Cuticle helps to reduce water loss and protect from drying out.
2. Epidermis:
- Epidermis is a single layer of cells on the upper and lower surfaces of the leaf.
- Epidermal cells are protective layer which contain no chloroplast.
- Epidermal cells produce wax.
Functions of the Epidermis:
a. Reduce the chance of the bacteria and
fungi from entering into the leaf
b. Help to keep the leafs shape.
c. Reduce evaporation from the leaf.
Epidermis is divided into two main parts:
1. Upper epidermis and
2. Lower epidermis

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3. Mesophyll
Mesophyll is the tissue between upper and lower epidermis of the leaf.
Mesophyll tissue contains:
a. Palisade cells(palisade mesophyll cells) and
b. Spongy cells (spongy mesophyll cells)
4.Vascular bundles:
o Are the leaf veins.
o Contain xylem and phloem.
o Xylem vessels bring water and minerals to the leaf.
o Phloem vessels transport sugars and amino acids away from the leaf
(translocation).
o They also provide support for the leaf.

5.Stomata (Sing.: Stoma):


o Stomata are tiny pores found at the lower epidermis or the underside of a leaf.
o Each stomata is surrounded by a pair of guard cells
o Guard cells control whether the stoma is open or closed.
o The stomata allow exchange of gases between the air and the external tissue of the
leaf; for instance, CO2 diffuses in and O2 diffuses out during photosynthesis.
o Also, water vapour passes out of the stoma pores during transpiration. About 90%
of water evaporation from a plant takes place through the stomata.

Mechanism of Stoma Opening and Closing:


Opening and closing of the stoma depends upon up take and losses of potassium
ions by the guard cells.

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Up take or loss of potassium ions by the guard cells causes whether water move into or
out of the guard cells and this leads the guard cells to become turgid or flaccid.

When guard cells become turgid, the stoma


pores open up.
When guard cells become flaccid, stoma pores
close.

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Structure and Function of the Root System:


The root is the part of the plant which lies below the surface of the soil. The elongation
of the radical leads to the formation of the primary root.
Functions of the Root:
a. The root system helps in anchoring and supporting the plant firmly into the soil.
b. The root hairs help in water and mineral salts absorption from the soil.
c. Store products of photosynthesis and nutrients (carbohydrates, sugars, proteins)
d. Roots also help in environmental protection by preventing soil erosion.

Types of Roots:
There are several root systems in which plants have. The three most common types
roots are:
1. Tap root,
2. Fibrous root and
3. Adventitious root.

Tap Root:
Tap root system or the primary root system is the most
common type of root system.
Tap root is the main, downward-growing root with
limited branching, where its main root is easily
recognizable; e.g., carrots.
Smaller lateral roots known as the secondary roots
are produced on the primary root. The secondary roots
in turn produce tertiary roots which grow in various
directions and help in fixing the plant firmly into the soil.
When seed germinates a single root grows down into
the soil. Later lateral roots grow from an acute angle out wards and down wards.
Where a main root is recognizable, the arrangement is called a tap root system.

Fibrous Roots:
Fibrous roots are freely branched roots that occupy a large
volume of shallow soil around a plant's base.
Fibrous roots dont penetrate deep in the soil.
In fibrous roots, the main root is not recognizable from the
lateral roots; e.g. cereals (beans) and sometimes grasses.

Adventitious Roots:
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Adventitious roots arise at an unexpected


place. For example, the brace roots on corn and
the short whitish bumps along a tomato stem are
adventitious roots.

The roots that develop from any part of the plant


other than the radical are known as the
adventitious roots, e.g. corns

In this type of root system growth, the radical is


arrested at an early phase. They are then
replaced by numerous roots that develop from the stem. These are also known
as fibrous roots and are slender and equal size.

Root Structure:
The root consists of the following regions from
the apex upwards:
1. Root cap region
2. Region of cell division
3. Region of elongation
4. Region of maturation

Root Cap:
The tip of the root is covered by a small cap-like
protective structure known as the root cap.
The root cap consists of dead cells.
The root cap protects the growing tip of the root.
The root cap eases the movement of the root
through the soil.
The root cap protects the cell under from
abrasion and it also helps the roots in penetrating
the soil.
The root cap cells are continuously produced to
replace the worn out root tip in order to penetrate
the soil.
The movement of the root tips is also assisted by
a slimy substance known as mucigel, which is
produced by the cells of the epidermal cells of
the root cap.

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Region of Cell Division (Meristematic zone):


The region of cell division is known as the root tip meristem which lies behind the root
cap.
The region of cell division contains continuously dividing cells called meristem cells
that support root elongation.
They lack vacuoles and have a relatively large nucleus,
Region of Elongation:
Region of elongation is also known as zone of elongation.
It lies behind the region of cell division.
Region of elongation is the area where new cells are added to by the region of cell
division for enlarging it.
Region of elongation is the only region where the root grows longer.
The expansion of cells in this region pushes the meristematic zone and the root cap
forward through the soil.
The cells present in the region of elongation have vacuoles within the cytoplasm
which fill with water and aids in strengthening of its cells.
Region of Maturation:
The cells after elongation complete the process of differentiation and it is recognized by
the large number of root hairs that extend into the soil.
These cells increase the surface area for absorption of water and minerals from the soil.

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