p. 11 Plant and Cell Architecture
- Lincoln Taiz, Lincoln TaizUniversity of California, Santa Cruz
- Eduardo Zeiger, Eduardo ZeigerUniversity of California, Los Angeles
- Ian Max MøllerIan Max MøllerAarhus University, Denmark
- , and Angus MurphyAngus MurphyUniversity of Maryland
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of the basic anatomy and cell biology of plants, from the macroscopic structure of organs and tissues to the microscopic ultrastructure of cellular organelles. It begins by looking at the unifying principles of plant life processes. All plants convert solar energy to chemical energy. They use growth instead of motility to obtain resources, and have vascular systems, rigid structures, and mechanisms to avoid desiccation on land. Plants develop from embryos sustained and protected by tissues from the mother plant. The chapter then explains plant classification and plant life cycles, before presenting an overview of plant structure. It describes plant cell types, plant cell organelles, the nucleus, the endomembrane system, independently dividing semiautonomous organelles, the plant cytoskeleton, and cell cycle regulation.
