Question

Both growth and differentiation in higher plants are open’. Comment.

Answer 1

1. In general, plant development is unpredictable. Higher plants have specialised regions known as meristems that are involved in the development of new cells.
2. Because the terminals of plants (with an apical meristem) "are open-ended, continually growing and generating new organs to replace the older or senescent ones,” their bodies are constructed in a modular fashion, meaning that their structures are never fully formed.
3. Differentiation is always correlated with growth distinct structures at maturity, meaning that both are accessible. Furthermore, the precise cause of differentiation is unknown. Plants have open-ended differentiation in addition to open-ended growth.
4. At maturity, distinct cell types such as xylem, phloem, parenchyma, sclerenchyma fibres, collenchyma, etc. are produced by the same apical meristem cells. As a result, both processes are open, ambiguous, and limitless, developing into distinct structures at maturity.