Download Stem Structure and Function

Stem Structure and Function
Practice Question – Page 525 # 1 to 8
1.
List the key functions of plant stems
i)
ii)
Stems provide support for the plant
Serve as a transport link from leaves to roots and reproductive parts of the plant such as
the flower and the seed.
iii) They also serve to store water and carbohydrates
2. What is the function of the vascular cambium?
As in roots, cells of the vascular cambium divide by mitosis to produce secondary phloem to the outside
and secondary xylem to the inside.
3. Compare the arrangement of vascular bundles in young monocot and dicot stems
In a young monocot stem, the vascular bundles are arranges sporadically in the stem whereas in the dicot
stem, the vascular bundles are arranges in a ring.
4. Which type of plant typically exhibits secondary growth of the stem
Dicot plants typically exhibit secondary growth of the stem
5. Describe the purpose(s) served by the dead woody tissues in plants with very tall stems.
The main function of the heartwood (Dead Xylem) is to provide support for the tree.
6. In which part of the woody stem does the transport of water and minerals take plance?
The living xylem tissue surrounding the heartwood is called the sapwood, which carries water and
dissolved minerals.
7. Beavers feed mainly on the phloem and vascular cambium of various trees. Why might this
tissue be more nutritious then that of the xylem
Xylem conducts water and dissolved materials
Phloem transports dissolved carbohydrates through the plant
8. Describe how modifications of the stem have allowed cacti to survive desert environments.
Cacti have thick, fleshy stems that perform photosynthesis and contain large amounts of parenchyma
tissue for water storage.