A root hair cell is a typical plant cell in that it has a cell wall and a large vacuole, but it has a special shape to increase its surface area making it very effective at absorbing water. It doesn’t have chloroplasts because it is underground where there is no light.
The root hairs emerge from the root to increase its surface area.
The roots branch out to find water and anchor the plant securely to the ground.
Looking at the cross-section of a root, you can see the plant’s transport vessels in the centre. The phloem carries sugary fluid down from the leaves. The xylem carries water up from the soil.
Questions…
- Name a feature plant cells have that animal cells do not.
- Name a specific function of a plant’s roots?
- What structure in leaf cells produces the sugar carried by the phloem?
- What name is given to the specific sugar produced during photosynthesis?
- For what do the root cells use the sugar that is delivered to them by the phloem?
Comments