Plants are made up of many different things. Most plants, have chloroplasts, which are small parts that are inside of a plant cell and they are the color green.
Plants also have cells, cell membranes, a nucleus, cytoplasm, a cell wall, petals, stamen, pollen, pistil and chlorophyll.
Plants are multicellular, which means that they have more than one cell, they are most of the time green due to the chlorophyll, they cannot move from place to place and they are autotrophs, which means they make their own food.
Plant Categories
Plants are important because they are producers, which means that they produce things that help us. Plants, for example, help to produce oxygen.
There are two types of plant categories and these are vascular and nonvascular.
Vascular
Vascular plants have two different tubes that help the plant to grow and survive. These two tubes are called the xylem and the phloem.
The xylem helps to carry water. Water is absorbed from the roots of the plant and the water is carried upwards.
It is important to note that the roots help to hold the plants into the ground and the roots also help to absorb water for the plants to be able to live.
The phloem carries the glucose, or the sugar, that is produced when photosynthesis happens.
Remember, the glucose is the food that the plants have that helps them to grow and the rest of the glucose is stored in the leaves of the plant. The phloem helps to carry the food.
Non-vascular
Non-vascular plants do not have tubes such as the xylem and the phloem.
These types of plants still have to have glucose and water, and plants that are non-vascular, meaning they do not have tubes, are usually small and scrawny because they do not have the tubes to carry the glucose and water all through the plant.
Non-vascular plants get their water by osmosis, meaning they soak up the water. Some examples of non-vascular plants are mosses.
Parts of A Plant
Most of the parts of a plant are used to help the plant to go through photosynthesis.
Remember, photosynthesis is when a plant makes its food from sunlight, carbon dioxide and water.
Plants have plant cells and these plant cells are too small to be seen without a microscope.
Each of these plant cells have a cell membrane which is a thin covering that surrounds the cell in order to keep the parts together.
Roots
The roots of the plant help the plant to absorb the water that is needed for the plant to survive.
The roots are important because they store access water for times when it is too hot and too dry.
The roots are also important for support, without roots, the plant would just fall over and would blow over if any wind came.
Nucleus and Cytoplasm
The center of the plant cell is called the nucleus. The nucleus is considered the control part of the plant cell, meaning that it tells the cell what kind of activities it is going to do.
The rest of the cell is covered with cytoplasm, a material that is like jelly.
Cell Wall and Chloroplast
Another part of the plant cell is the cell wall. The cell wall is the outside layer of the cell membrane and this is a strong layer that makes the cell have shape.
The plant cell also contains chloroplast, which are small, green organelles that are in the plant cell. The chloroplast helps to give the green color to plants.
Cellular Respiration
Plants are useful for producing oxygen through cellular respiration.
Plants have small openings, called stomata, meaning more than one opening, or stoma, meaning only one, and they are small openings, mostly under the leaves, that help the plants to have gasses flow in and out of the plant, which is needed for photosynthesis.
Leaves
The leaves of a plant are useful for capturing light energy in order to aid in photosynthesis.
Stomata cannot be opened all the time because water can come out of the stomata. The plants use guard cells to help determine if the stomata will be opened or closed.
If guard cells keep the stomata open, it can lose water but get gasses it needs.
If the guard cells close the stomata, it can keep water, but it will not be able to get the gasses it needs.
Most of the time at night, the plants close the stomata and preserve their water because photosynthesis cannot occur without light.
In the daytime, most plants open their stomata so they can get the gasses that they need to complete photosynthesis.
Facts About Plant Structure:
- The xylem and phloem are considered the “circulatory system” of plants.
- The xylem and phloem are tubes that are used for transporting nutrients and water all through the plant.
- The plant has similar parts to animals except it has a cell wall and chloroplasts that animals do not have.
- Veins in the leaves help to transport food, water and minerals to the plant.
- The leaf has a cuticle, upper epidermis, palisade mesophyll, spongy mesophyll and a stoma. All of these parts help to store carbon dioxide and water.
- Another job of the cell wall is that it helps support the plant.
- Plants have a vacuole, this is a place where materials are stored.
- The cell membrane helps control what comes in and leaves the plant cell.
What Did You Learn?
- What are the two plant categories? Vascular and Non-vascular are the two plant categories.
- What plant has tubes that go from the bottom of the plant to the top of the plant so that they plant can get water? The vascular plant has tubes called the xylem and the phloem that help to transport water and glucose throughout the plant.
- What tube helps to carry water throughout the plant? The xylem helps to carry water throughout the plant.
- What tube carries the glucose throughout the plant? The phloem carries the glucose throughout the plant.
- What are tiny openings on the leaves that help to bring water in and are important for the exchanges of oxygen and carbon dioxide gasses? The tiny openings on the leaves are called stomata for more than one and stoma if there is only one opening.
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