3. DISTRIBUTION AND TYPES OF PARENCHYMA, COLLENCHYMA AND SCLERENCHYMA A. Parenchyma General Characteristic Features © Parenchyma cells ae isodiametric but they vary in form. (Fig. 3.1 A, B,C)ANATOMY OF ANGIOSPERMS 1 (ii) They are more or less spherical in shape when they are isolated. But they assume various forms due to pressure and surface tension of neighbouring cells. (iii) Presence of intercellular space among the cells is the most conspicuous feature. (iv) The cells are living and each cell possesses one or more nuclei. Distribution () Parenchyma are very much common differentiated cell in the plant organs. (ii) It is found in the cortex, pith and peri-cycle of stems and roots, mesophyll of leaves, pulp of fruits and endosperm of seeds. (iii) Parenchyma cells are also component of some complete tissues, they are part of xylem, phloem and medullary rays. Types (i) Chlorencyma. Sometimes parenchyma cells contain sufficient chloroplasts and are termed as chlorenchyma or assimilatory tissue. Those are common in the mesophyll of leaf and outer cortex of young stems. (Fig. 3.3 A) (i) Prosenchyma. Sometimes, the parenchyma cells are elongated with pointed ends, cell walls are slightly thickened. Those are called prosenchyma which provide mechanical support. (iii) Arenchyma. Large intercellular spaces among parenchyma cells make the organ light and help in buoyancy. Those are arenchyma . (Fig. 3.2 A,B) (iv) Storage parenchyma. In the endosperm of Coffea arabica and phoenix dactylifera, the primary wall of the cells become very thick. In succulents (e.., Aloe, Opuntia) the parenchyma cells preserve water in the form of mucilage. (v) Idioblastic parenchyma. These are secretory in function and provide various enzymes. (vi) Palisade and spongy parenchyma — Mesophyll cells in the leaf are differentiated into palisade (elongated cells) and spongy parenchyma (rounded cells). (Fig. 3.3 B) B. Collenchyma General Characteristics (® The collenchyma consist of elongated cells, various in shape, walls, rectangular, oblique and tapering ends. (Fig. 3.4) (ii) The cells are living with persistent protoplasts. with unevenly thickened (ili) The cells overlap and interlock, forming fibre-like strands. (iv) They may have intercellular spaces or not. (v) The walls contain cellulose, pectin and hemicellulose. There are alternate layers of cellulose-rich, pectin-poor and cellulose-pore and pectin-rich material——x DEGREE PRACTICAL BOTANY 4 A B FIG. 3.1. Parenchyma cells. A, B. thin walled parenchyma, C. cell showing primary wall thickenings FIG. 3.2. Aerenchyma. A. from a transection of petiole of Zantedeschia. B. from a lacunae in a leaf of Canna.ANATOMY OF ANGIOSPERMS 14 (v) Primary pit fields are often prenent inthe collenehyma cells. (vii) Collenchyma cells are thickened al eornern and the thickening. spreads. Distribution (@ Collenchyma usually oceurs below the epidermis or below a few layers of parenchyma, coll wall (i) WW occurs ax @ complete cylinder or in longitudinal strips in stems. (iii) In leaves collenchyma is distributed on one wide or cither side of veins and on margin of lari (iv) In many monocots, these are absent but thene are found in stems, leaves, floral parts and fruits ‘and in aerial roots. FIG. 3.4. Collonchyma in transverse ‘ioction showing wall thickenings — According to the thickenings of the cell wall collenchyma is of 3 types: lamellar, lacunar and angular. (Fig. 3.5 A, B,C, D) (i) Lamellar, In lamellar type collenchyma, heavy thickenings are observed in the tangential wall than in the radial walls, (ii) Lacunar, Lacunar type thickenings are found in the intercellular spaces. (iii) Angular. In this the thickenings are primarily at corners or angles of cells. Sometimes the lumen (cavity inside the cell) is circular in cross-section, it is annular collenchyma, C. Sclerenchyma (a), General Characteristics (i) Sclerenchyma cells are dead cells and the cell walls are very thick and often lignified. (ii) They vary in shape, size, origin and development. (Fig. 3.6 A, B) (iii) Sclerenchyma is divided into fibres and sclereids. fibres, These are specialized sclerenchymatous cells and are long, narrow, thick and lignified with blunt or pointed ends. They have flexibility and elasticity. These are dead cells (Fig. 3.7 A-G) (b) Distribution (i) Fibres are found in different parts of plant body. (ii) They are very common in association with vascular tissues, (iii) They also occur in ground tissue, (iv) Fibres may occur in patches in continuous bands and sometimes singly among other cell (y) They are main mechanical tissue in plants,DEGREE PRACTICAL BOTANy B. lacunar, in sections respectively. section. C-D angular, in transverse and longitudinal FIG. 3.5. Types of collenchyma. A. lamellar, in transverse section. transverse FIG. 3.6. Sclerenchyma in transverse, A. longitudinal, and B. planeANATOMY OF ANGIOSPERMS 16 A B FIG. 3.7. A-G. Types of fibres. A. libriform fibre. B. fibre-tracheld. C. septate fibre- tracheid, D-E. gelatinous (mucilagenouss) fibre in longitudinal plane and in transection respectively. F-G. unseptate and septate phioem (basi) fibres respectively, (©) Types According to their position in the plant body, fibres are classified into xylary fibres and extra-xylary fibres. isodiametric antl may be spherical, oval, In some case they are stellate, (. Xylary fibres otherwise known as wood fibres are associated with xylem. Xylary fibres may be subdivided into libriform fibres and fibre tracheids. (ii) Libriform fibres have very thick walls and simple pits while the fibre tracheids have comparatively thin walls and bordered pits. These fibres are separate and retain their protoplast for longer period. (iii) In certain dicotyledonous plants, there are gelatinous or mucilage fibres. Though these are simple fibres in morphology, but retain more water in them. (iv) Extra-xylary fibres are long, spindle-shaped with tapering ends. They are usually unbranched. They cell walls are thick due to lignin or cellulose and provided with simple or bordered pits. Extra xylary fibres are 3 types: cortical fibres (in the cortical region), peri-vascular fibres (close to vascular bundles but not part of pholem) and phloic or phoem fibres] originating in the primary and secondary phloem. Sclereids.|Sclereids are also known as stone cells or sclerotic cells. These are more or le -shaped or cylindrical in )8 DEGREE PRACTICAL BOTANY A id ti shape. These are dead cells and the lumen is small. The cell wall is usually ies ne Shee, lignified and sometimes even suberized. The cell wall is provided with simple pits an 4 of canal is observed Distribution . (0 Sclerieds are universal in occurrence in plant organs. They occur in singly or in patches. (i) They are associated with xylem and phloem and parenchymatous tissues of pith and cortex, (iii)_In many leguminous seeds, sclereids form a complete layer. ; (@) In leaves, they occur at the ends of vein - lets as terminal sclereids or near the margins as marginal sclereids. Types According to the shape and thickness of walls, sclereids are classified into five types: astroscleids, brachy sclereids or stone cells, macrosclereids, osteosclereids and trichosclereids. (Fig. 3.8 A-F) (i) Astrosclereids. These are stare-shaped (stellate) and are distributed in stems and leaves. (i) Branchy-sclereids or stone cells Stone cells are found in the cortex, pith and phloem of stems and pulp of fruits. (iii) Macrosclereids. These are columnar in shape and are located in seeds and fruits. (iv) Osteosclereids. The sclereids are bone - shaped and with dilated ends. They are found in seed coats of monocots and in leaves. (») Trichosclereids. These are hair-like, sometimes branched and ate distributed in the inter cellular spaces in the leaves and stems of certain hydrophytes, aerial roots and leaves. AA. brachysclereids (stone cells). B, astrosclereids. C-D. macrosclereids. E. osteosclereids. F. trichosclereid,\ ) e000 > c Oo q 88] To PO| Mev Be ; D2 £0) 88 (2) = 88 ee 9) cae ae G H ! J K Fig. 8. Tracheids : Exercise 10 Object : To study the structure and distribution of vessels (Fig. 9). Comments These show following characters : 1. Vessel is made of series of vessel members. 2. Vessel member is a more or less elongated cell, non-living, highly lignified at maturity. 3. The end walls show variety of the perforation plates. 4. Perforation plate with a single large pore is called simple perforation plate, while those with many perforations are called multiple perforation plates. The secondary walls are pitted. The pits may be either ‘simple or bordered. The arrangement of pits varies from species to species. 6. The pits may be arranged in a single row (uniseriate) or may be present in two or more rows (multiseriate). The adjacent vessel members show common pit pairs. Vessels are characteristic of woods of almost all angiosperms. Though absent from gymnosperms, it occurs in Gnetum, Ephedra and Welwitschia. In pteridophytes, xylem consists of tracheids only but for a few exceptions. Walls showing different types of thickenings. A. Annular, |_D. Reticulate, E. Pitted, E, G, HL Simple pits, F, I, J, K. Bordered pits Fig. 9 A-D. Vessels (perforation plates) : A-C. Oblique end walls with multiple perforation D. Transverse end walls with simple perforation plate plates, 8. In some angiosperms like _—_Drimys Trochodendron, etc., vessels are absent.