Question

Differentiate between sclerenchyma and parenchyma tissues. Draw well labelled diagram.

Answer 1

Differences between parenchyma and sclerenchyma are as follows:

	Parenchyma	Sclerenchyma
(i)	Cells are thin walled with cellulosic cell walls.	Cella are thick walled with lignified cell walls.
(ii)	It is made up of living cells.	It is made up of dead cells.
(iii)	Cells are usually loosely packed with large intercellular spaces.	No intercellular spaces occur between the cells
(iv)	It is primarily a storage tissue and stores nutrients and water in stem and roots.	It is primarily a mechanical tissue and provides mechanical strength to the plant part It is primarily a storage tissue and stores nutrients and water in stem and roots.
(v)	Some cells contain chlorophyll and form chlorenchyma and perform photosynthesis Other cells have large air cavities and form aerenchyma which provides buoyancy to the hydrophytic plants	The cells are long and narrow, make the plant hard and stiff. The tissue is present in the stem around vascular bundles, in veins of leaves, and hard covering of seeds and nuts.