EXERCISE #5

BASIC PLANT CELL AND TISSUE TYPES

I. Introduction

Despite the diversity of plants and the forms and types of their stems, roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and
seeds, all share a basic, rather simple organization. They are all mainly composed of cells and tissues
that are customarily grouped into just three classes: parenchyma, collenchyma and sclerenchyma. This
grouping is based primarily on the nature of the cell walls.

II. Objectives
At the end of the exercise, the students are expected to be able to:
1. Distinguish between the basic plant cell and tissue types.
2. Develop skills in wet mount preparation and use of stains.

III. Materials

Equipment/Instruments:
Microscopes (Compound and stereoscopic dissecting types)

Reagents and other materials:

Glass slide and cover slip
Razor blade
Water color brush
droppers
IKI solution
Toluidine blue O (TBO) dye
Distilled water

Plant specimens:
Solanum tuberosum (potato) tuber
Hydrilla verticillata (digman) twig
Dieffenbachia maculata (dumbcane) petiole
Canna indica (Bandera espanola) petiole
Plectranthus scutellarioides (mayana) stem
Luffa acutangula (patola) scrub
Cocos nucifera (coconut) husk
Pyrus communis (pear) fruit

IV. Procedure

A. Read and understand the description of the basic cell and tissue types before sectioning the
specimens.

1. Parenchyma: Parenchyma is a tissue composed of parenchyma cells that vary greatly in forms
and functions but are generally thin-walled and alive at maturity. This is the most common type of
cell and tissue, constituting all soft parts of the plant body. This is also often spoken of as the
fundamental or ground tissue in which other tissues, notably the vascular tissue, are embedded. This
tissue is the principal seat of essential plant activities such as photosynthesis, storage, respiration,
division, protection, secretion and excretion, which are carried out by special types of parenchyma
cells. The protective epidermis along with its associated hairs and stomates is composed of
parenchyma cells. Photosynthetic parenchyma cells contain chloroplasts and are generally termed
chlorenchyma regardless of their location. Storage parenchyma cells contain lots of amyloplasts.
Parenchyma cells with large air spaces are called aerenchyma. Highly branched parenchyma cells,
with adjacent cells connected to each other by means of the branches, are called stellate
parenchyma. Parenchyma cells are able to resume meristematic activity and thus, play important
role in wound healing, regeneration, formation of adventitious roots and shoots and vegetative
reproduction. Although most parenchyma cells only have primary, nonlignified cell walls, certain
parenchyma cells especially those associated with the secondary xylem develop secondary wall and
become lignified.

2. Collenchyma: Collenchyma is a living tissue composed of more or less elongated cells with
unevenly thickened and nonlignified primary walls. It is a simple tissue being composed of a single
cell type, the collenchyma cell. Collenchyma cells are similar with parenchyma cells in having
complete protoplasts capable of meristematic activity and photosynthesis. The chief difference lies
in the unevenly thickened, thicker walls of collenchyma cells, the thickening occurring at the corners
where the cells meet. Cell wall thickening begins early in the shoot development and increases
simultaneously as the organ elongates. Because the wall thickenings are plastic, i.e. unable to regain
original length when stretched, and capable of extension, they do not hinder the elongation of the
stem and leaf. Collenchyma cells are found in groups along the sides of the young stems and in the
stalk and midrib of leaves, where they provide support.

3. Sclerenchyma: Sclerenchyma is a tissue composed of cells with evenly thickened secondary

walls, often lignified, and differs from the first two types of cells because these cells do not usually
retain their protoplasts at maturity. Since the protoplast is dead, these cells look empty. Cell walls
of sclerenchyma cells absorb stains so that they are often very visible in prepared slides. The
common sclerenchyma cells are the fibers and sclereids. The main function of these cells is support
for both primary and secondary tissues.

Fibers are typically long, spindle-shaped cells that usually occur in strands in the cortex, phloem,
xylem, and in sheaths or bundle-caps associated with the vascular bundles. The phloem fibers of
eudicots, popularly called bast fibers, are considered soft fibers because they are relatively soft and
flexible, e.g. ramie and flax. Leaf fibers of monocots are classified as hard fibers because they are
strongly lignified, hard and very stiff, e.g. abaca. There are also commercially known fibers that are
not fibers at all, e.g. cotton fibers are epidermal hairs of the seeds of the cotton plant.

Sclereids are typically short cells with thick secondary walls, strongly lignified and provided with
numerous simple pits. Sclereids like fibers are widely distributed in the plant body. They occur in
stems, leaves, fruits and seeds in a number of types based on shape and size: (1) brachysclereids, or
stone cells, roughly isodiametric or somewhat elongated cells found in the cortex, phloem and pith
of stems and in the flesh of fruits; (2) macrosclereids, elongated and columnar (rod-like cells) found
in leguminous seed coats; (3) osteosclereids, bone cells, also columnar but with enlarged ends as in
the subepidermal layer of some seed coats; and (4) astrosclereids, star cells, with lobes or arms
diverging from a central body, often found in the leaves of eudicots.
 B. Prepare wet mounts of the indicated specimens. Identify the basic cell and tissue types seen.
1. Place a very thin cross-section of potato tuber on a clean glass slide with a drop of water. Add a
very small drop of IKI solution. Be careful not to overstain the cells as they will turn very dark
and will not allow you to clearly see the contents of the cells. Examine first under LPO, then
shift to HPO for closer examination of the cells. Note the stained starch grains in every cell.
Make simple line drawings or take good photo of the cells containing these starch grains. How
do you specifically call these cells?
2. Obtain a green Hydrilla leaf and place on a clean slide with a drop of water. Examine first under
LPO, then shift to HPO. Make simple line drawings or take good photo. How do you call these
cells with green plastids?
3. To examine the cell and tissue types from Dieffenbachia and Canna petioles, the stem of
Plectranthus and fruit of pear, follow these steps described by Yeung (1998):
a. Make cross sections using a sharp razor blade.
b. Transfer sections to water using brush, not forceps or needle.
c. Select and transfer the thinnest sections onto a glass slide and stain using toluidine blue
O (TBO) solution for one minute.
d. Gently remove the stain by using a piece of filter paper.
e. Wash sections by flooding them with water followed by its removal. Gently slant the
slide to remove water. Repeat until there is no excess stain around the sections.
f. Add a drop of clean water over the sections and apply a cover slip. The slide is ready for
examination. Make simple line drawings or take good photo of the sections.

Results: TBO is a polychromatic stain. Pectin will be red or reddish purple: lignin, blue; other phenolic
compounds, green to blue-green. Thin-walled parenchyma will be reddish purple; collenchyma, reddish
purple; lignified elements such as tracheary elements and sclerenchyma will appear green to blue-green;
sieve tubes and companion cells, purple; middle lamella, red to reddish purple; callose and starch,
unstained (O’Brien et al., 1964 as cited by Yeung 1998).

4. Obtain coconut husks and luffa (loofah) scrub. Examine the cells under a dissecting
microscope to see the cells of interest in three dimensions. How do you call the elongated,
cylindrical cells? Make simple line drawing or take a good photo.

References

Evert RF. 2007. Esau’s Plant Anatomy: meristems, cells and tissues of the plant body, their structure,
function and development (3rd ed.). John Wiley and Sons Inc., New Jersey.

Yeung EC. 1998. A beginner’s guide to the study of plant structure. In Tested Studies for Laboratory
Teaching Volume 9 (S.J. Karcher, editor). Proceedings of the 19 th Workshop/Conference of the
Association of Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE). pp 125-142.
Name Date Performed
Biology 1 Section Date Submitted
Teacher

WORKSHEET #5
BASIC PLANT CELL & TISSUE TYPES

Draw or attach good photo of the given cell and tissue types. Label the indicated cells and write their specific
cell types on the space above the specimen name.

1. Parenchyma

(Solanum tuberosum tuber) (Hydrilla verticillata leaf) (Dieffenbachia maculata stalk) (Canna indica petiole)

2. Collenchyma

x.s. Plectranthus stem x.s. Dieffenbachia stalk (Canna petiole)

3. Sclerenchyma

Pear fruit Luffa fruit Coconut husk

Questions:

1. Why are parenchyma, collenchyma and sclerenchyma considered basic cells and tissues of the plant?

2. Give 2 examples each of the following commercial fibers:

a. Soft or bast fibers ,

b. Hard fibers ,

c. not at all fibers ,

d. fibers plus other cells ,

3. Explain the significance of staining the cells and tissues before examining.