A Close-Up on Vascular Plants

Roots:

Roots are branched underground structures that serve two major purposes; anchoring the plant to the ground, and aiding in the transport of water and nutrients. The roots have little structures called root hairs that have ability to absorb the water and nutrients from the soil which are then transported to the vascular tissues (xylem and phloem) to be distributed throughout the entire plant.

Magnification: Medium Power

 Stems:

Stems are important in providing the support for the plant, if the stem is not sturdy then that may affect the plants growth. Now, there are two types of stems; woody stems and herbaceous stems. Woody stems contain wood and as the years go by the layers of wood add up, strengthening the stem altogether. In addition, the extra strength and the presence of bark allow the plant to survive and grow as the seasons pass. Herbaceous plants have a limited life span only living up to a point where they have flowered/ fruited, and up until then the stem would have died to ground level only to return the next growing season.  Looking at the labelled slide below,  you can see that this is a cross-section of a herbaceous stem.

Magnification: Medium Power

Leaves:

Plant leaves serve the sole purpose of capturing sunlight and converting that into energy. This is done through a natural biochemical process that we all know as photosynthesis. The chemical reaction for this process is shown in this chemical formula: 6CO₂ + 6H₂O (+ light energy)  C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O_2. 

The stomata on the surface of the leaves are responsible for the exchange of gases between the leafs interior and the atmosphere. This is important as the exchange of gases regulates the amount of carbon dioxide and oxygen that we have in the air which is very very substantial to every living thing that lives breathing oxygen (us).