Nutrient and water delivery

   Transpiration is like sweating for plants in a way. Transpiration is water vapor leaving the plant through cells called stomata. Typically, this occurs in leaves, but it can also happen in roots, flowers, and stems. Transpiration happens when stomata cells are opened. This process is necessary in order to let in carbon dioxide from the air to use in photosynthesis. Transpiration also cools off the plant, changes the osmotic pressure of the cells, and makes mass flow of nutrients and water from roots to shoots possible.

stomata cells have guard cells over them to control when they are opened or closed. When the cell has swelled with water, the guard cell will open the stomata to let some of it out and to take in CO2.

   Turgor pressure is caused by the osmotic flow of water from an area of low solute concentration outside of the cell to a higher solute concentration in the vacuole. This pressure pushes the plasma membrane against the cell wall of the plant.

   The vascular tissue transports water and nutrients through out the plant, kind of like the circulatory system in animals. There are two main tissues that carry out the functions of the vascular tissue, the xylem and the phloem. There are two meristems within the vascular tissue, the vascular cambium and the cork cambium.

   Xylem is a type of tissue within the vascular tissue of a plant. Xylem transports water and some nutrients from the roots through the rest of the plant. It also replaces water that was lost from photosynthesis and transpiration. Xylem is made up of two cell types called tracheids and vessel elements. These cells are long and the vessel elements are connected together into tubes called vessels.

   Stomata are pores in leaves and stems epidermis that are used for gas exchange. The cells that border the stomata are called guard cells. Guard cells control the size of the opening in the stomata. Oxygen and carbon dioxide enter the plant through stomata and are used in photosynthesis and cellular respiration. At the same time, oxygen is leaving the plant, along with water vapor. Stomata are shaped like an oval. The guard cells are wrapped around the stoma(singular), which makes a circular shape around the stoma.

   Soil affecting plant growth:

• not enough nutrients, so plant growth is not well
• high amounts of needed nutrient, plant will thrive
• clay, sand, and others negatively affect draining of plants, so cause them to not grow well
• plants anchor themselves in the soil, so if there is not much or it is then they will not last through wind and storms

   Casparian strip: part of cell wall that is chemically different on the endodermis. The endodermis is the innermost layer in some plants that lays between the cortex and the stele. It blocks the passive flow of things such as water and solutes into the stele. The stele is the central part or the root or stem.