Anatomy of Flowering Plants - Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, tissue systems, and anatomical structures of dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants.

Anatomy

The study of the internal structure of plants and other living organisms.

Epidermal Tissue System

The outermost covering of the primary plant body, comprising epidermal cells, stomata, and epidermal appendages such as trichomes and root hairs.

Cuticle

A waxy, thick layer covering the outside of the leaf and stem epidermis that prevents the loss of water; it is absent in roots.

Guard Cells

A pair of specialized bean-shaped cells (or dumb-bell shaped in grasses) enclosing the stomatal pore that possess chloroplasts and regulate stomatal movement.

Subsidiary Cells

Specialized epidermal cells located in the vicinity of guard cells that differ in shape and size from typical epidermal cells.

Stomatal Apparatus

The complete anatomical unit comprising the stomatal aperture, surrounding guard cells, and the adjacent subsidiary cells.

Root Hairs

Unicellular elongations of root epidermal cells that help absorb water and minerals from the soil.

Trichomes

Multicellular epidermal hairs on the shoot system that may be branched or unbranched, soft or stiff, or secretory, and help prevent water loss from transpiration.

Ground Tissue System

All tissues except the epidermis and vascular bundles, consisting of simple tissues like parenchyma, collenchyma, and sclerenchyma.

Mesophyll

The leaf ground tissue consisting of thin-walled cells containing chloroplasts that carry out photosynthesis.

Radial Vascular Bundle

A vascular bundle arrangement where xylem and phloem are located in an alternate manner along different radii, as seen in roots.

Conjoint Closed Vascular Bundle

A vascular bundle where xylem and phloem are jointly situated along the same radius without cambium between them, preventing secondary growth.

Conjoint Open Vascular Bundle

A vascular bundle containing cambium between the xylem and phloem along the same radius, allowing the formation of secondary xylem and phloem.

Epiblema

The outermost layer of the dicotyledonous root whose cells protrude into unicellular root hairs.

Casparian Strips

Depositions of water-impermeable, waxy suberin present on the tangential and radial walls of root endodermal cells.

Pericycle

A layer of thick-walled parenchymatous cells next to the root endodermis where initiation of lateral roots and vascular cambium during secondary growth takes place.

Conjunctive Tissue

Parenchymatous cells lying between the xylem and phloem patches in roots.

Stele

All plant tissues located on the inner side of the endodermis, including the pericycle, vascular bundles, and pith.

Polyarch Xylem

Condition in monocotyledonous roots where there are more than $6$ xylem bundles.

Starch Sheath

The endodermis of a dicotyledonous stem, so named because its cells are rich in starch grains.

Medullary Rays

Radially placed parenchymatous cell layers located between adjacent vascular bundles in a dicotyledonous stem.

Bundle Sheath

A layer of thick-walled sclerenchymatous or parenchymatous cells enclosing each vascular bundle in monocot stems and leaf veins.

Palisade Parenchyma

The adaxially placed mesophyll tissue in dicot leaves made up of vertically elongated, parallel cells.

Spongy Parenchyma

The abaxially placed mesophyll tissue in dicot leaves consisting of oval or round, loosely arranged cells with large intercellular air spaces.

Bulliform Cells

Modified large, empty, colourless adaxial epidermal cells along the veins in grass leaves that roll the leaves inwards during water stress to minimize water loss.

Dorsiventral Leaf

A dicotyledonous leaf having distinct adaxial and abaxial surfaces and mesophyll differentiated into palisade and spongy parenchyma.

Isobilateral Leaf

A monocotyledonous leaf with stomata present on both surfaces and an undifferentiated mesophyll.