Plant Structures and Growth

BIOL 1407

Root System

• Environment: Soil

• Functions:– Anchorage– Absorbs water

and minerals– Transport

• Photo Credit: Rasbak van TeunSpaans, Wikimedia Commons

Root Hairs

• Close to tip of root

• Extensions of epidermal cells

• ↑ surface area• ↑ absorption

Shoot System

• Environment: Atmosphere

• Functions:– Photosynthesis– Transport– Support– Reproduction

• Photo Credit: Doyle Cross, El Yunque Cloud Forest, Puerto Rico 2007

Shoot System

• Organs:– Stems– Leaves– Flowers

• Photo Credit: Joseph Amana, Biology Student, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center 2005

Growth

• Indeterminate growth Grow throughout life

• Primary growth• Secondary

growth

Meristems

• Growth Zones• Apical Meristems

– At tips of roots & shoots

– Primary Growth

Meristems

• Lateral Meristems – Only in woody plants– Cylinder in mature

roots and stems– Secondary Growth

• Wood• Bark

Root Tip

Dicot Root X-Sec

Stele of Dicot Root

Shoot Tip

Dicot Stem X-Sec

Dicot Leaf X-Sec

Lower Epidermis of Leaf

Vascular Tissue

• Xylem– Water – Minerals

• Phloem– Organic

compounds

Xylem

Phloem

Plant Videos

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNjR4rVA8to&feature=related

• Carnivorous Plants: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoLJSMOsPCg

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktIGVtKdgwo&feature=related

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trWzDlRvv1M&feature=related

The End

Unless otherwise specified, all images in this presentation came from:

Campbell, et al. 2008. Biology, 8th ed. Pearson Benjamin Cummings.