Plants Essays - Plant Anatomy, Plant Morphology, Plant Physiology

Plants Plants are the basis of the food pyramid for all living things, even other plants. They have always been very important to people, not only for food, but also for clothing,weapons, tools, dyes, medicines, shelter and a great many other purposes. Both humansand animals benefit from plants. We eat many different types of plants such as fruits andvegetables. We also use plants for our herbs. Plants are also used to manufacture manydifferent products such as shampoos, rubber, paper, and camera film. In some countries,fermented sugar cane is used instead of gasoline. Animals use plants in many differentways also. They eat many fruits and other plants. Many animals use plants for shelter. Plants also provide animals with protection from predators. The destruction of differentplants sometimes leads to animals becoming endangered or extinct. The basic structure of plants consists of roots, stem, leaves, flower and/or fruit or seeds. A flower is the part ofthe plant that makes the seeds. The main parts of a flower are the carpels and stamens. These parts are often found in the center of the flower. There are egg cells in the carpeland pollen cells in the stamen. All flowers have four basic parts: sepals, petals, carpels,and stamen. Different flowers have different numbers and shapes of these parts. Mostplants can be divided into one of two general categories: herbaceous or woody plants. Herbaceous plants have soft stems, while woody plants are tree-like. Herbaceous plantsproduce completely new stems each year. The approaching cold weather causes the newstems to die back to the ground. Some herbaceous plants survive periods of cold byforming underground bulbs, or tubers used for food storage. Many herbaceous plantscomplete their life cycles within one growing season and the whole plant dies, even theroots. These annuals produce seeds that will form new plants the next year.Land plantsare divided into two groups based on whether they have vascular tissues or not. Allnonva scular plants are placed in one division. There are nine divisions of vascular plants. These are divided based on whether they form seeds or not.Division Bryophyta -nonvascular plantSClass - Musci - the mossesDivision Pterophyta - ferns, group ofseedless plantsDivision Coniferophyta - cone-forming seed plantsDivision Anthophyta -fruit-forming seed plants Class - Monocotyledonae Class - DicotyledonaeChapter2ROOTSRoots help to anchor a plant in the ground. . Plants generally conform to one oftwo root systems, a taproot system or a fibrous root system. . When the plant is grownfrom cuttings, a fibrous root system will form.Every root grows a mass of tiny hairs nearits tip to absorb water from the soil. These tiny hairs are called root hairs, and they aremade from cells. They take water to the main root. The main root brings the water to themain plant. The roots also help hold the plant in the ground. The inside of a roothas four different parts. The epidermis is the outside part. It is like our skin. It protectsthe inside parts of the root, like our skin protects us. Plants take in water from the soilthrough their roots. The water passes through the vascular rays until it reaches the centerof the root, the stele. This is where the veins are located. The veins are called xylem. They carry the water and food through the plant. Between the epidermis and the stele isthe fleshy cortex.Land plants are divided into two groups based on whether they havevascular tissues or not. All nonvascular plants are placed in one division. There are ninedivisions of vascular plants. These are divided based on whether they form seeds or not.Stems support the plant. They transport vitamins, minerals and water up and down insidethe plant. They also serve as a storage area for plants.There are several different types ofstems such as, woody, herbaceous, stolons, rhizomes, and bulbs. These are describedbelow. Herbaceous, non-woody, plants have vascular tissues arranged in bundles. Thesevas cular bundles are either scattered throughout the stem or found in a ring toward theedge of the stem. The stems of herbaceous plants remain upright because of the structureof the cells in the stem. The individual cells have rigid walls. . In woody plants, thephloem is located in a ring near the stem while the xylem is located more to the inside. The stem also takes on different appearances