Plant Anatomy

Gregor Barclay, University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

Published online: March 2003

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0002068

Plant anatomy describes the structure and organization of the cells, tissues and organs of plants in relation to their development and function.

Keywords: meristem; organ; tissue

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	Figure 1. Longitudinal section through a typical plant and cross-section of the specific areas.
	Figure 2. Cross-section of a dicotyledonous stem.
	Figure 3. Production of secondary vascular tissue from the multistep meristem.
	Figure 4a. Sieve tube and companion cells.
	Figure 4b. Xylem vessels.
	5. Root cross-section.
	6. (d) (a) Carrot, modified tap root. (b) Tannia, plant. (c) Tannia, corm. (d) Ginger, rhizome. (e) Potato, stem tuber.
	7. Transverse section of a leaf.
	8. Modified leaves. (a) Barberry thorns. (b) Vitis vinifera tendrils. (c) Onion – succulent leaves, bulb. (d) Nepenthes sp. – lamina of each leaf is modified into a pitcher-shaped chamber.
	9. Barbados Pride (Caesalpinia pulcherrina).
	10. Ovary structure and position in flowers. (a) Transverse section of a trilocular tricarpellary ovary. (b) Unilocular ovary. (c) Ovary position. (d) Unilocular tricarpellary ovary.
	11. Apple flower and fruit structure.
	12. Seed dispersal modifications. (a) Representation of a dicotyledonous seed. (b) Dandelion. (c) Legume, Pithecellobium arboreum. (d) Pine seed.

Further Reading
	book Bell AD (1991) Plant Form. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
	book Dickison WC (2000) Integrative Plant Anatomy. New York: Academic Press.
	book Esau K (1977) Anatomy of Seed Plants, 2nd edn. New York: Wiley International.
	book Fahn A (1990) Plant Anatomy, 4th edn. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
	book Mauseth JD (1998) Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology: Multimedia Enhanced Edition. London: Jones and Bartlett.
	book Mauseth JD (1988) Plant Anatomy. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin/Cummings.
	book Niklas KJ (1994) Plant Allometry: The Scaling of Plant Form and Process. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
	book Niklas KJ (1997) The Evolutionary Biology of Plants. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
	book Raven PH, Evert RF and Eichhorn SE (1999) Biology of Plants, 6th edn. New York: WH Freeman.
	book Simpson BB and Ogorzaly MC (2000) Economic Botany. Plants in Our World, 3rd edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.