Plant Tissue

BIOLOGY

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Plant Tissue
 Plants are stationary or fixed – they don’t move. Most of the tissues they have are supportive, which
provides them with structural strength.

 Most of the plant tissues are dead, since dead cells can provide mechanical strength as easily as live ones,
and need less maintenance.

 Animals on the other hand move around in search of food, mates and shelter. They consume more energy
as compared to plants. Most of the tissues they contain are living.

 Another difference between animals and plants is in the pattern of growth.

 The growth in plants is limited to certain regions, while this is not so in animals.

 There are some tissues in plants that divide throughout their life. These tissues are localised in certain
regions.

 Based on the dividing capacity of the tissues, various plant tissues can be classified as growing or
meristematic tissue and permanent tissue.

 Cell growth in animals is more uniform. So, there is no such demarcation of dividing and non-dividing
regions in animals.

 The structural organisation of organs and organ systems is far more specialised and localised in complex
animals than even in very complex plants.

 This fundamental difference reflects the different modes of life pursued by these two major groups of
organisms, particularly in their different feeding methods.

 Also, they are differently adapted for a sedentary existence on one hand (plants) and active locomotion on
the other (animals), contributing to this difference in organ system design.

Points to Remember
 A tissue is one of the building blocks of an organism--either animal or plant. An organism is comprised of
tissues, which are made up of individual cells.

 This process of taking up a permanent shape, size, and a function is called differentiation.

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Meristematic Tissue
 The growth of plants occurs only in certain specific regions. This is because the dividing tissue, also known
as meristematic tissue, is located only at these points.

 Depending on the region where they are present, meristematic tissues are classified as apical, lateral and
intercalary.

 New cells produced by meristem are initially like those of meristem itself, but as they grow and mature,
their characteristics slowly change and they become differentiated as components of other tissues.

Meristematic Tissue

Types of Meristematic Tissue

 They are found at the tip of stems and roots. During the cell division, this meristem
Apical meristems
helps in cellular enlargement and also it influence the shapes of the mature plants.

 They are found along the sides of roots and stems.

Lateral meristems
 They play a vital role in increasing the width or diameter of stems and roots.

 They are found at the bases of young leaves and internodes. They are mainly responsi-
ble for further lengthening of stems and leaves.
Intercalary meristems
 As the cells of this tissue are very active, they have dense cytoplasm, thin cellulose
walls and prominent nuclei. They lack vacuoles.

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Permanent Tissue
 The tissues, which are derived from the Meristematic tissues, are called as permanent tissues.

 They are the tissues, which have lost their ability to divide as they have attained their mature form.

 Cells of meristematic tissue differentiate to form different types of permanent tissue.

 There are two types of permanent Tisues:-

1. Simple Permanent Tissue

2. Complex Permanent Tissue

Simple Permanent Tissue

They are the tissues, which are similar in function and are called as simple because they are composed of similar types
of cells, which have common origin and function.

 A few layers of cells form the basic packing tissue.

 This tissue is parenchyma, a type of permanent tissue.

 It consists of relatively unspecialised cells with thin cell walls.

 They are live cells.

 They are usually loosely packed, so that large spaces between cells (intercellular
spaces) are found in this tissue.

Parenchyma

Vertical section of parenchyma Longitudnal Section of Parenchyma

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 This tissue provides support the plants and also stores food. In some situations, it
Chlorenchyma
contains chlorophyll and performs photosynthesis, and then it is called chlorenchyma.

 In aquatic plants, large air cavities are present in parenchyma to give buoyancy to the
plants to help them float.
Aerenchyma
 Such a parenchyma type is called aerenchyma.

 The parenchyma of stems and roots also stores nutrients and water.

 The flexibility in plants is due to another permanent tissue, collenchyma.

 It allows easy bending in various parts of a plant (leaf, stem) without breaking.

 It also provides mechanical support to plants.

 We can find this tissue in leaf stalks below the epidermis.

 The cells of this tissue are living, elongated and irregularly thickened at the corners.

 There is very little intercellular space.

Collenchyma

Vertical section of Cholenchyma Longitudnal section of Cholenchyma

 It is the tissue which makes the plant hard and stiff.

 For example:- The husk of a coconut made of sclerenchymatous tissue.

 The cells of this tissue are dead.

 They are long and narrow as the walls are thickened due to lignin (a chemical
Sclerenchyma substance which acts as cement and hardens them).

 Often these walls are so thick that there is no internal space inside the cell.

 This tissue is present in stems, around vascular bundles, in the veins of leaves and in
the hard covering of seeds and nuts.

 It provides strength to the plant parts.

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Collenchyma

Vertical Section of Cholenchyma Longitudnal Section of Choilenchyma

 The outermost layer of cells, called epidermis. The epidermis is usually made of a
single layer of cells.

 In some plants living in very dry habitats, the Epidermis may be thicker since
protection against water loss is critical.

 The entire surface of a plant has this outer covering of epidermis. It protects all the
parts of the plant.

 Epidermal cells on the aerial parts of the plant often secrete a waxy, water-resistant
layer on their outer surface.

 This aids in protection against loss of water, mechanical injury and invasion by parasitic
fungi.

 Most epidermal cells are relatively flat. Often their outer and side walls are thicker
than the inner wall.

 Small pores in the epidermis of the leaf are called stomata.

Epidermis  Stomata are enclosed by two kidney-shaped cells called guard cells. They are necessary
for exchanging gases with the atmosphere.

 Transpiration (loss of water in the form of water vapour) also takes place through
stomata

 Epidermal cells of the roots, whose function is water absorption, commonly bear long
hair-like parts that greatly increase the total absorptive surface area.

 In some plants like desert plants, epidermis has a thick waxy coating of cutin (chemical
substance with waterproof quality) on its outer surface.

 As plants grow older, the outer protective tissue undergoes certain changes.

 A strip of secondary meristem replaces the epidermis of the stem.

 This forms the several-layer thick cork or the bark of the tree. Cells of cork are dead
and compactly arranged without intercellular spaces.

 They also have a chemical called suberin in their walls that makes them impervious to
gases and water

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Complex Permanent Tissue

 The different types of tissues we have discussed until now are all made of one type of cells, which look like each
other.

 Such tissues are called simple permanent tissue. Yet another type of permanent tissue is complex tissue.

 Complex tissues are made of more than one type of cells.

 All these cells coordinate to perform a common function.

 Xylem and phloem are examples of such complex tissues.

 They are both conducting tissues and constitute a vascular bundle.

 Vascular or conductive tissue is a distinctive feature of the complex plants, one that has made possible their
survival in the terrestrial environment.

 Xylem is also called as water-conducting cells.

 Xylem consists of tracheids, vessels, xylem parenchyma and xylem fibres.

 The cells have thick walls, and many of them are dead cells.

Xylem

There are four Components of Xylem:-

1) Tracheids

 Tracheids are primitive conducting elements of xylem.

 They are unicellular and having narrow lumen (but lumen of tracheids is wide than
fibres). Tracheids join together from their ends" to form a long row.

 The long rows extending from the roots via stem to the leaves.

 A transverse septum lies between every two tracheids. It bears pits. Water moves from
one tracheid to another tracheid through pits.

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2) Vessels

 The lumen of vessels is wide than tracheids and its end wall is perforated. Therefore,
vessels are more capable of conduction of water than tracheids.

 Due to the presence of perforated end wall, vessels work as a pipeline during
conduction of water.

Xylem 3) Xylem Fibres

 Xylem fibres provide major strength to the tracheids and vessels. Mainly these fibres
provide strength to the vessels. They are present more abundantly in secondary xylem.
4) Xylem Parenchyma

 It’s cell wall is made up of cellulose. It store fats, starch and tannin etc. The radial
conduction of water is the function of xylem parenchyma. Their walls possess pits.

 Phloem is unlike xylem in that materials can move in both directions in it.

 Phloem transports food from leaves to other Parts of the plant.

 Phloem is made up of four types of elements

Phloem

1) Sieve tubes

 Sieve cells/sieve tube elements are living and thin walled.

 Sieve plate (oblique transverse perforated septa) lies between the two sieve tube
elements at their end wall. It is porous. Materials are transported through these pores.

 Deposition of callose takes place on the radius of pores during dropping season
(autumn) of leaves, to form a thick layer. This is called Callus pad.
2) Companion Cells

 These are thin-walled living cells. The companion cells and sieve tube elements are
connected by pit fields present in their longitudinal walls, which is common wall for
both and, with the death of one, another cell also dies.

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 Sieve tube element and companion cell originates together. Both of them originate
from a single mother cell. So termed as sister cells.

 Companion cells are only found in Angiosperms.

3) Phloem Parenchyma

 The main function of phloem parenchyma is the storage of food and conduction of
food in the radial direction The conducting element of pholem is termed as Leptom
which consists of Sieve cells and Sieve tubes.

 Phloem Fibres

 These fibres which are present in phloem are known as Libriform fibres. Phloem fibres
are generally not found in primary phloem

Phloem
Xylem Phloem
They are elongated, tubular-shaped
They are tubular-shaped structure, with the
structures that include thin sieve tubes with
absence of cross walls.
walls.
These tissues move in a Unidirectional (only These tissues move in a Bidirectional. (both
in one direction – upward direction) ways – up and down)
Transports food and other nutrients
It transports soluble mineral nutrients and
including sugar and amino acids from leaves
water molecules from the roots to the aerial
to storage organs and growing parts of the
parts of the plant.
plant.
It consists of tracheids, vessel elements,
It consists of sieve tubes, companion cells,
xylem parenchyma, xylem sclerenchyma and
phloem fibres and the phloem parenchyma.
xylem fibres.

Vascular Cambium
In the case of young stem vascular cambium lies in patches as a single layer between the xylem and phloem
and forms a complete ring at a later stage.

Activity of Vascular Cambium

 The cambial ring becomes active and begins to cut off new cells, both towards the outer and inner sides.

 The cells which are cut off towards pith form secondary xylem. The cells which cut off towards periphery
mature into secondary phloem.

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 The cambium is more active on the inner side than the outside. Therefore, the amount of secondary xylem
produced is more than the secondary phloem. Due to the continued formation and accumulation of
secondary xylem, the primary and secondary phloems get gradually crushed

 At some places, the cambium forms a narrow band of parenchyma, which passes through the secondary
xylem and the secondary phloem is present in the radial directions. These are the secondary medullary
rays.

Points to Remember
 The first formed primary phloem consists of narrow sieve tubes and is referred to as protophloem while
the later formed phloem has bigger sieve tubes and is referred to as metaphloem

 At certain regions, the phellogen cutsoff compactly arranged parenchymatous cells on the outer side
instead of cork cells. These parenchymatous cells soon rupture the epidermis which forms a lens-shaped
openings called lenticels

Spring Wood Autumn Wood

It is formed during spring It is formed during autumn.

Number of xylary elements is more Number of xylary elements is less.

It is formed when the cambium is active. It is formed when the cambium is less active.

The wood is lighter in colour with low density. The wood is darker with higher density.

Heart Wood Sap Wood

It is outer wood of an old stem. It is the central wood of an old stem

It is light coloured. Heartwood is dark coloured

Living cells are present. Living cells are absent

Sapwood is the functional part of the secondary xylem or

Heartwood is the non-functional part of secondary xylem
wood

The tracheary elements are not plugged by tyloses. The tracheary elements are plugged by tyloses.

It is more durable due to its little susceptibility to the attack

It is less durable.
of pathogens and insects.

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Heart Wood Sap Wood

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