BIOLOGY

TISSUES

There are 2 main types of tissues in plant :-meristematic tissues -permanent tissues

Maristematic tissues

Consist of small cells which have thin walls,large nuclei,dense cytoplasm and no vacuole Young ,actively dividing cells which have not undergone differentiation and are located at the tips of roots and the bud of shoots

Permanent tissues
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Mature tissues that have undergone differentiation or still undergoing differentiation. There are 2 types of permanent tissues :-epidermal tissues -ground tissues -vascular tissues

Epidermal tissues
The outermost layer that covers the stems,leaves and roots of young plants.. Most epidermal cells are flat and have large vacuoles The walls of epidermal cells which are exposed to air are covered with a waxy waterproof coating called CUTICLE The cuticle minimises water loss through evaporation,protects plants from mechanical injury and prevents invasion of diseases caused by microorganisms..

The root epidermal cells have long projections called root hairs to increase the surface area for water absorption.. Specialised epidermal cells containing chloroplasts are found among epidermal cells.. These cells called guard cells and they control the opening and closing of stomata.

Ground tissues

Consists of :-parenchyma tissues -collenchyma tissues -sclerenchyma tissues All these tissues form the bulk of a plant. Parenchyma cells are the least specialised of the cell types found in all the organs of a plant.. The cells have relatively thin primary walls and large vacuoles

Parenchyma cells store sugar and starch Parenchyma tissues which is turgid gives support and shape to herbaceous plants Collenchyma cells have unevenly thickened cell walls,especially at the corners Collenchyma tissues supports nonwoody(herbaceous) plants,young stems and petioles

Sclerenchyma cells have cell walls which arwe uniformly thickened by lignin and may be dead.. They give support and mechanical strength to mature regions of a plant

Vascular tissues

Consists of :-xylem -phloem which are continuous throughout the plant. Xylem consists mainly of xylems vessels joined togetherend to end,extending from the roots right up to the leaves.. The absence of cytoplasm in xylem vessels enables efficient transport of water and dissolved mineral salts from the roots to other parts of the plant

The walls are thickened with lignin to provide support and mechanical strength to the plant Phloem consists mainly of sieve tubes which are arranged end to end to form long continuous tube-like structures.. Organic compounds such as newly synthesised carbohydrates and amino acids in the leaf are transported by phloem to other parts of the plant

Organs and systems in plants

Some examples of organs in plants are :-leaf -stem -root -flower The leaf is made up of ground tissues ,epidermal tissues and vascular tissues.. Systems in plants are not as specialised as those of animals..

Plants also have fewer organs as compared to animals.. Flowering plants consists of 2 main systems :-root system -shoot system The root system consists of all the roots of a plant.. The shoot system consits of stems,leaves,buds,flower and fruits..

The stems and branches act as a support system for the plant by holding the leaves upright for maximum absorption of sunlight during phothosynthesis.. The flower are involved in pollination