EXPERIMENT 7: LEAVES
PARTS OF A LEAF:
SIMPLE & COMPOUND LEAVES
LEAF MODIFICATIONS
Bulbous petiole enable the plant to float.
Colored Bracts protect the flower from pests & harsh weather.
Eichhornia crassipes
Bougainvillea glabra
Spines of cactus for protection, absorbs moisture from the air.
Tendrils of a squash help the plant climb up to reach more sunlight.
Cucurbita maxima Carnegia gigantica
Leaf base of an onion for storage.
Stipules of Gumamela protect the young leaves.
Allium cepa
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn
Fleshy leaves of Aloe Vera for asexual reproduction.
Aloe barbdensis
CROSS SECTION OF A MONOCOT LEAF
CROSS SECTION OF A DICOT LEAF
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
Briefly describe how leaves are formed. Leaves are formed from the leaf primordium. More cellular divisions and expansions produce an apical peg, which has an apical meristem and a procambial strand that forms the leafs midrib. The leaf the forms an adaxial meristem that thickens the leaf. Then the leaf forms an upper and lower leaf zone. The upper lead zone contains marginal meristem which increases the surface area of the leaf.
Briefly describe the ligule and its function. A ligule is a thin, membranous out growth from the base of the blade of most grasses. This excludes water from draining down the midrib of the leaf blade into the pocket of space between the leaf sheath and the internodal groove caused by divergence of the axillary bud. In doing this, the ligule also excludes conditions for possible stalk rot infection and allows the axillary bud to develop and respire.
Define the following:
leaf trace - A strand of vascular tissue that extends between the vascular bundle of a stem and a leaf. abscission zone where the transformation of a cork layer results in the separation of that part from the plant body. deciduous plants tree or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally. Thigmotropism - is a movement in which an organism moves or grows in response to touch or contact stimuli.
prophylls tiny reduced leaves near the base of a lateral branch. leaf dimorphism occurrence of morphologically distinct leaves on the same plant. fronds leaves that are usually formed in a curled structure called a fiddlehead.
Briefly compare the cross-section of a monocot and dicot leaf.
Dicot leaf the vascular bundles are not in parallel series and are supported by bundle sheath extension. The mesophyll is differentiated into palisade and spongy mesophyll. Monocot leaf the vascular bundles are in parallel series and are supported by sclerenchyma patches. It has a uniform mesophyll.
Does your observation on the vascular tissue arrangement of a monocot and dicot stem and leaf indicate continuity of vascular tissues in these organs? Briefly explain your answer.
Yes, in dicots there is a continuity of vascular tissues because the venation is netted and are connected. In monocots, there is no continuity since the veins are not connected.
Compare the distribution of the stomata in the upper and lower epidermis of a horizontally and a vertically oriented leaf.
Horizontally oriented leaf there are more stomata at the abaxial epidermis.
Vertically oriented leaf the stomata are distributed evenly.
Briefly compare the leaves of hydrophytes and xerophytes.
Xerophytes small, thick leaves with welldeveloped spongy and palisade layers. These leaves are modified for storing water. These are found in deserts. Hydrophytes large, thin leaves with poorly developed spongy and palisade layers. These leaves contain large amounts of aerenchyma. These are aquatic plants.
Give three economic importance of leaves.
Sources of medicine. Sources of fuel because some leaves contain flammable resins that can be used as fuel.
Sources of fibers which are woven into ropes and fabrics prized by clothiers and sailors.
