Waste Disposal
Angiosperms remove their waste through transpiration, photosynthesis and respiration (gas exchange).
Transpiration: is the loss of water from a plant through its leaves. It occurs when small pores in the leaves, called stomata, open to allow in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. When this happens, water vapor escapes from the pores. This lost water is replaced through xylem vessels in the vascular tissue.
Gas Exchange: During photosynthesis, the leaves of angiosperms take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. When plants use the food they make, cellular respiration occurs, consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. The spongy mesophyll, a loose tissue that has many air spaces between its cells allows gas exchange. The stomata, which are pore openings on the side of the leaf open to allow carbon dioxide and oxygen to exchange. Carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange across cell membranes and cell walls, so plant cells that are close to the air can rid themselves of excess oxygen or carbon dioxide.
Other wastes are stored in the vacuole; a large membrane bound organelle inside the cell. Angiosperms store their wastes in vacuoles to be excreted from the plant. Plants can also store these waste products in structures they will shed, like leaves that die and fall off.
Transpiration: is the loss of water from a plant through its leaves. It occurs when small pores in the leaves, called stomata, open to allow in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. When this happens, water vapor escapes from the pores. This lost water is replaced through xylem vessels in the vascular tissue.
Gas Exchange: During photosynthesis, the leaves of angiosperms take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. When plants use the food they make, cellular respiration occurs, consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. The spongy mesophyll, a loose tissue that has many air spaces between its cells allows gas exchange. The stomata, which are pore openings on the side of the leaf open to allow carbon dioxide and oxygen to exchange. Carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange across cell membranes and cell walls, so plant cells that are close to the air can rid themselves of excess oxygen or carbon dioxide.
Other wastes are stored in the vacuole; a large membrane bound organelle inside the cell. Angiosperms store their wastes in vacuoles to be excreted from the plant. Plants can also store these waste products in structures they will shed, like leaves that die and fall off.