Plant Tissue Flashcards
(24 cards)
What is a leaf
The leaf is a plant organ
What are these areas?
(Top) Upper Epidermis, (Bottom) Lower Epidermis
Where do the epidermis’s cover?
The top and bottom of the leaf
What do epidermal cells form?
Epidermal tissue
What does the epidermis do?
It protects the surface of the leaf
What feature does the upper epidermis have?
- It’s transparent
- allows light to pass through to photosynthetic cells
- covered in waxy cuticle
What does the waxy cuticle do?
Reduces evaporation of water from the SURFACE of the leaf. This prevents it from drying out.
What features does the lower epidermis have?
It has tiny pores called STOMATA
What does stomata do?
It allows carbon dioxide to enter the leaf and oxygen to leave.
- Helps control the amount of water vapour that can pass out the leaf.
What features does the stomata have?
On either side, it has guard cells
What else is found at the TOP of the leaf?
Palisade mesophyll
What does the palisade mesophyll consist of?
Palisade cells
What do palisade cells have?
They are packed with chloroplasts
What does chloroplast do for the leaf?
It absorbs light energy with CHLOROPHYLL which helps for photosynthesis.
What is in the central area of the leaf?
Spongy mesophyll
What feature of the spongy mesophyll is there?
- full of air spaces
What does the spongy mesophyll allow?
- the spaces allow carbon dioxide to diffuse from the stomata through spongy mesophyll to the palisade cells.
- oxygen diffusers from the palisade cells through spongy mesophyll to the stomata
What other tissues are in the leaf?
The Xylem and the Phloem
What does the xylem do?
Transports mineral ions. Includes magnesium which is used for chlorophyll.
What does Phloem do?
Transports dissolved sugars produced by photosynthesis from the leaves to the rest of the plant.
Sugar is used for glucose in respiration
These sugars can be stored as starch
What is the movement of sugars and other molecules through Phloem called?
Translocation
What final tissue is there?
Meristem tissue
Where is meristem tissue found?
Growing tips on shoots and roots
What does meristem tissue contain?
Stem cells, though it can differentiate into different plant tissue
