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PLB 101
EXCRETION AND TRANSPORTATION
1. Excretion
2. Transportation
EXCRETION IN PLANTS
This is a process by which waste products of metabolism and other non-
useful materials from the body of an organism.
Metabolism is the name given to all chemical processes that occur in a
living organism in other to maintain life.
It is divided into two (2) namely;
- Anabolism
- Catabolism
Anabolism
Anabolism is the synthesis of all compounds needed by the body. AKA BODY BUILDING.

Catabolism
Catabolism is the breakdown of molecules to produce energy for body use. AKA BODY
BREAKING.

Metabolism involves the production of useful and useless products, some

of it are toxic. Accumulation of toxic products may harm the organism. Thus
living organisms remove this toxic wastes from their site of production in
the process called EXCRETION.

EXCRETORY PRODUCTS IN PLANTS

The major excretory products in plants are:
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Excess water
- Excess Nitrogenous compounds
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*Carbon dioxide and water (H2O) are produced during respiration.

*Nitrogenous compounds are produced during protein metabolism.
Other examples of excretory products in plants are:
- Oxygen
- Water vapor
- Resin
- Acids and alkaloids
- Tannins
- Gum
- Rubber
- Latex
- Essential oils
- Mucilage
EXCRETORY ORGANS OF PLANTS
A. STOMATA (STOMA)
This is the pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems and other
organs, that is used to control gaseous exchange and loss of water
vapor. It is bordered (surrounded) by a pair of specialized
parenchyma cells known as GUARD CELLS that regulate the size of
the stoma.
B. HYDATHODES
This is a type of secretory tissue in leaves, usually found in
angiosperms, that excretes water through pores and the leaf tips.
C. LENTICLES
A lenticel is a porous tissue consisting of cells with large
intercellular species in the covering of secondary thickened organs
such as the back of woody stems and roots of dicots.
Lenticels are also present on many fruits. It functions as a pore for
excreting excess water.
D. CUTICLE
A cuticle is a non-cellular waxy coating of the epidermis of all
terrestrial plants. It serves as a pore for excreting excess water.
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MECHANISM OF EXCRETION IN PLANTS

Plants lack a well-developed excretory system like animals, so excretion in
plants is not so complex.
Excretion of CO2 and O2, through gaseous waste products produced by
plants during respiration and photosynthesis respectively, takes place
through the stomata of pores on leaves by diffusion.
The oxygen is used for respiration while carbon dioxide is used for
photosynthesis. Excess water is excreted from the plant body in a process
called transpiration through the stomata, lenticels and cuticles, WHILE
Hydathodes excrete excess water by diffusion.
Nitrogenous compounds such as gum, latex, resins etc. are stored in plant
parts such as the bark, stems and leaves. Eventually, plants shed off these
parts, thus excreting the nitrogenous waste products stored in them.
The oil produced from oranges, eucalyptus, Jas latex of rubber, tree and
gums from acacia etc. are different forms of stored waste products.
Sometimes, plants excrete waste products through their root hairs.
Excretion in aquatic plants takes place in their leaves through diffusion.
Some waste products are forced out of the inner cells of the plants by
hydrostatic pressure and absorptive forces of the cell, they are hence
rendered harmless and stored in the plant body as solids, which are then
released when the plant dies and decays.

IMPORTANCE OF EXCRETION IN PLANTS

1. It removes waste products from the body of plants.
2. Oxygen is the most useful excretory products of plants and it is
essential for life on earth.
3. Essential oils are used for making perfumes and medicines.
4. Wood of plants are used for making paper, furniture etc.
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TRANSPORTATION IN HIGHER PLANTS

Transportation is the movement of materials in solution within the body of a
living thing. Essential materials such as food, oxygen and hormones are
moved from their sources where they can be utilized WHILE waste
products such as CO2, Urea etc. are moved to excretory organs where they
can be removed.
In higher animals, the medium of transportation is the blood while it is the
sap in higher plants.
The organs of transportation in higher animals are the heart and blood
vessels (arteries and veins), WHILE the organs of transportation in higher
plants are the xylem and phloem (vascular bundles).

MATERIALS THAT ARE TRANSPORTED IN LIVING

THINGS.
The materials transported in higher plants include:
- Water
- Mineral salts
- Products of photosynthesis
- Hormones

WHILE
The materials transported in higher animals include:
- Excretory products
- Digested foods
- Heat
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- Hormones
- Oxygen

REASONS FOR TRANSPORTATIONIN LIVING THINGS

1. In higher plants and animals, the surface area to volume
ration (S.A/V) is too low. Therefore, materials cannot be
moved effectively through diffusion.
2. The places of production of materials such as hormones and
digested food within the body are far from where they can be
utilized. Similarly, where waste products are produced are
not close to the excretory organs that can remove them from
the body.
3. Some of the materials that are transported are very large in
size and quantity.

ORGANS OF TRANSPORTATION IN HIGHER PLANTS

Water and some mineral nutrients are transported by the xylem
from the root upward to other parts of the plants.
WHILE
Products of photosynthesis and some organic nutrients are
transported by the phloem from the green leaves down to the
roots.
The Xylem is made up of:
- Tracheid
- Xylem elements
- Parenchyma cells and fibers
*They are all dead cells.
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The phloem tissue is made up of:

- Sieve tubes (sieve elements)
- Parenchyma cells (companion cells, albuminous cells)
- Fibers and sclereids
*They are all living cells.
Phloem is found on the outside of the xylem in most plants. It is
the innermost layer of the bark of trees. Phloem transports
materials in all directions within the plant body.

MECHANISM OF TRANSPORTATION IN HIGHER

PLANTS
Materials that are transported are:
- Water
- Products of photosynthesis
- Mineral nutrients
The mechanism in bulk transporting these materials differs and
are explained as follows-
A. Mechanism of transportation of water in higher plants
Water is absorbed by the root hairs from the soil through
osmosis and it moves within the root cells by osmosis until it
reaches the xylem vessels in the stem. Movement of water
within the xylem vessels is among a concentration gradient
in a passive process covered by cohesion, adhesion and
transpiration pull.

*Cohesion is the force between similar molecules.

*Adhesion is the force between different molecules.
*Transpiration pull is as a result of transpiration.
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Water is a polar molecule and forms hydrogen bonds H+ and

O2-.
Hydrogen bonds have tension between them, so water
molecules stick together as a column and move together
upwards in the xylem vessels.
When transpiration occurs in the leaves, the rest of the
molecules in the xylem vessels will be under tension and
them pulled up the stem. This is called the cohesion
tension theory.

B. Mechanism of transportation of products of

photosynthesis.
Movement of products of photosynthesis through the phloem
is called translocation. The products of the photosynthesis
are moved from green leaves to various non-photosynthetic
part of the plant. Since a green leaf is the site of
photosynthesis, it is called a sugar source. Storage organs
such as roots can also be sugar sources if they are releasing
sugar. Phloem makes its deliveries to sugar sinks (*Sugar
sinks are places that do not produce sugar). Phloem
makes its delivery to sugar sinks in a multidimensional
pattern.
The sieve tube elements of phloem line up end to end. They
load sugars at sugars sources in a process called phloem
loading. During this process, solutes are actively
transported into the cells of sieve tubes elements using
hydrogen ions or ATP pumps. After phloem loading, water
moves into the cell of the sieve tube element by osmosis.
The flow of water causes too much pressure to build up,
forcing the materials in the sieve tube elements to move.
When the sugar arrive at the sinks, the phloem unloads it
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contents through the flow of water out of the sinks which

comes through the something.

Micro and macro nutrients are transported through the

vascular bundles as well. Root hairs absorb these nutrients
from the soil. The mineral nutrients move up through the
xylem vessels while the phloem takes care of the nutrients.
The mineral nutrients are delivered to the areas of their need
such as roots, leaves etc. The mineral nutrient moves by
diffusion of active transport.

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