Plant cell - Definition

The cells of plants are quite different from the cells of most other organisms. Their distinctive features are:

• A large vacuole (enclosed by a membrane, the tonoplast), which maintains cell turgor
• A cell wall made up of cellulose and protein, and in many cases lignin, and deposited by the protoplast on the outside of the cell membrane
• plastids, especially chloroplasts that contain chlorophyll, the pigment that gives plants their green color.

Like other eukaryotic cells, plant cells typically also have a nucleus, containing most of the cell's DNA, and mitochondria, the 'power plants' of the cell.

Types of plant cell

• Parenchyma ~ ground tissues
• Chlorenchyma ~ photosynthesis
• Collenchyma ~ support
• Sclerenchyma ~ fibers
• Epidermal ~ surface covering
• Stomata ~ contrivances on the epidermal of leaves
• Cork
• Tracheid ~ support
• Xylem and Phloem ~ conducting vessel elements
• Meristematic ~ actively dividing cells

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