University:
California State University, Los Angeles
Course:
BIOL 1010 | General Biology
Academic year:

2022
Views:

176

Pages:

1
Author:

Firly G

Basic Tissue (Parenchyma) Parenchymal tissue or ground tissue is a tissue formed from living cells with varied morphological and physiological structures and which still carries out all physiological processes. It is called basic tissue because almost every part of the plant has this tissue. Parenchyma is found in roots, stems, leaves, and covers other tissues, for example in xylem and phloem. Parenchyma has thin cell walls and when thickened it usually consists of cellulose which is still flexible. Cell walls rarely contain lignin, except in old organs. Thickened cell walls generally have plasmodes which can help facilitate the smooth exchange of substances.Parenchymal tissue has cells that are still alive. In the middle of the cell space there is a large central vacuole containing reserve food substances. In protoplasm there are usually plastids, both leukoplasts, chloroplasts and chromoplasts. Between the parenchyma cells, there are intercellular spaces which play a role in the exchange or circulation of gases. Most parenchyma cells are polyhedral in shape. Apart from being basic tissue, parenchymal tissue also functions as a tissue that produces and stores food reserves. Food-producing parenchyma is parenchyma that is used as a site for photosynthesis, for example in the mesophyll of leaves. The results of photosynthesis will be stored in the parenchyma. The stem and root parenchyma in some plants functions to store starch as a food reserve, for example in sweet potatoes (Ipomea batatas). Apart from that, the epidermis also functions as support for the body if the vacuoles contain water, such as in soft plants (spinach).There are various types of parenchymal tissue, including assimilation parenchyma, food parenchyma, water parenchyma, air parenchyma, and transport parenchyma. Assimilation parenchyma consists of cells that contain many chloroplast plastids so it is also called chlorenchyma, for example in leaves. This parenchyma is useful for photosynthesis (carbohydrate synthesis). The food parenchyma contains amyloplast plastids which function as a storage place for reserve food, for example in roots, tubers, tubers and rhizome roots. The water parenchyma is used as a water storage tissue, where this water is bound in the vacuoles of its cells actively, for example in succulent stems (capable of storing water in the tissue so that it appears fleshy) such as in cactus plants.The air parenchyma has quite large intercellular spaces and inside which there is air, for example in the floating plant and leaf stalks of Canna sp. Meanwhile, the transport parenchyma consists of elongated cells located in the direction of transport, for example in the xylem and phloem.