Support and Movement in Plants

Syllabus tag: KCSE | Biology | Form 4 | Topic 4 Support and Movement

Lesson objectives

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

• State the necessity for support in plants and animals.
• Describe the tissues providing support in plants.
• Explain the role of turgor pressure in support.
• Describe movement in plants, including tropisms and tactic movements.

Summary

Plants need support to hold leaves in the light, to hold flowers where pollination can occur, and to resist wind and rain. Support comes from turgor pressure in herbaceous plants and from strengthening tissues — collenchyma, sclerenchyma and lignified xylem — in woody ones. Plants move by growth, not by locomotion.