Structure and
Function of Plants
Chapter 10A
Plant Structure
What is a Plant?
• Kingdom Plantae
• Characteristics:
– Producers
– Eukaryotic and multicellular
– Have organized tissues
What is a Plant?
• Characteristics:
– Have plastids
– Have cell walls containing
cellulose
Botany
The study of plants
Plant Anatomy
• Most plants have three
types of organs
– Roots
– Stems
– Leaves
– Some plants also have
flowers
Node
A region where a leaf
is or was attached
Plant Anatomy
• Nodes
– Roots do not have nodes
– Stems have nodes
– Leaves do not have nodes but
are attached to stems at
nodes
Roots
• Root system
• Two types of root systems:
– Taproot system
– Fibrous root system
Stems
• Produce leaves and carry
substances
• Two types of stems:
– Woody stems
– Herbaceous stems
Leaves
• Blade
• Compound leaf
– Leaflet
Leaves
• Veins
– Parallel venation
– Palmate venation
– Pinnate venation
• Petiole
Leaves
• Arrangements of leaves
– Alternate
– Opposite
– Whorled
Internal Structure
• Cell walls
– Made largely of cellulose
– Turgor pressure
• Plastids
– Chloroplasts
• Chlorophyll
– Other types
Plant Tissues
• Xylem
– Long and hollow
– Carries water
– Wood
• Heartwood
• Sapwood
Plant Tissues
• Phloem
– Carries a sugar solution
– Vascular bundles
• Fibers
– Support the plant
– Long, narrow cells
Plant Tissues
• Epidermis
– Outermost tissue
– Flat cells
– Cuticle
Bark
• Outside the xylem of a
tree
• Vascular cambium
• Cork
• Cork cambium