BiologyICSE Class 9 · Tissues

Plant Tissues: Meristematic and Permanent Tissues (ICSE Class 9 Biology)

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Plant tissues are meristematic (cells that keep dividing at tips and sides) or permanent (cells that have stopped dividing). Permanent tissues are simple (parenchyma, collenchyma, sclerenchyma) or complex (xylem, which carries water and minerals, and phloem, which carries prepared food).

Understand Plant Tissues: Meristematic and Permanent

1. Meristematic tissue. Small, thin-walled cells with dense cytoplasm, a large nucleus and no intercellular spaces; they divide continuously.

*Apical*: at root and shoot tips; increases length.
*Intercalary*: at the base of leaves or internodes, as in grasses; helps regrowth.
*Lateral* (cambium): along the sides; increases girth.

2. Simple permanent tissues (one type of cell).

*Parenchyma*: living, thin-walled, with spaces; stores food, photosynthesises (chlorenchyma) or gives buoyancy (aerenchyma).
*Collenchyma*: living, walls thickened at the corners with cellulose and pectin; gives flexible support to young stems and leaf stalks.
*Sclerenchyma*: dead, long, walls thickened with lignin and no cavity; gives strength, as in husk of coconut and in fibres.

3. Complex permanent tissues (more than one cell type working together).

*Xylem* carries water and minerals upwards from roots. It has tracheids and vessels (dead, lignified), xylem fibres (support) and xylem parenchyma (living, stores food).
*Phloem* carries prepared food from the leaves to other parts. It has sieve tubes (living, with perforated sieve plates and no nucleus), companion cells (living, control the sieve tubes), phloem fibres and phloem parenchyma.

4. Link to function. Dead cells with thick lignified walls suit support and tubes for water; living cells suit storage and transport of food.

Plant Tissues: Meristematic and Permanent: key facts

Meristems: $A p i c a l : l e n g t h ∣ I n t er c a l a r y : r e g r o w t h ∣ L a t er a l : g i r t h$
Simple tissues: Parenchyma storage
Collenchyma flexible support
Sclerenchyma hard support, dead
Xylem: Water and minerals
Upward
Tracheids and vessels
Lignified
Phloem: Prepared food
Sieve tubes and companion cells
Living except fibres

Parenchyma	storage
Collenchyma	flexible support
Sclerenchyma	hard support, dead

Plant Tissues: Meristematic and Permanent in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Pruning a hedge

Suppose a gardener trims the top of a hedge and the plant grows thicker and taller again after some weeks.

Which tissues are behind the regrowth?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Cutting the tip removes the apical meristem.
Lateral buds and cambium continue growth, giving bushier growth.

Answer: Meristematic tissues keep dividing and drive regrowth.

Memory hook: Cut the tip, wake the sides.

Tricks to remember Plant Tissues: Meristematic and Permanent

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

P-C-S
Parenchyma stores, Collenchyma bends, Sclerenchyma is stiff.
Use it when: Simple tissues.
X up, P down
Xylem carries water up; phloem carries food to all parts.
Use it when: Conduction.

Plant Tissues: Meristematic and Permanent: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Name the tissue · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

Name the tissue that (a) increases the thickness of a stem, (b) forms the husk of a coconut, (c) carries sugar from the leaf. [3]

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(a) Lateral meristem (cambium).
(b) Sclerenchyma.
(c) Phloem.

Answer: (a) Lateral meristem (b) Sclerenchyma (c) Phloem.

Example 2: Meristematic features · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

State three features of meristematic cells and relate each to their function. [3]

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Dense cytoplasm and a large nucleus: active division.
Thin walls: easy division.
No intercellular spaces: compact, so growth is orderly.

Answer: Dense cytoplasm and large nucleus, thin walls and no spaces suit continuous division.

Example 3: Xylem versus phloem · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Give three differences between xylem and phloem. [3]

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Substance: water and minerals versus prepared food.
Direction: upwards versus up and down.
Cells: mostly dead and lignified versus mostly living.

Answer: Xylem carries water and minerals upwards and is mostly dead; phloem carries prepared food in both directions and is mostly living.

Example 4: Grass versus tree · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Grass regrows after grazing but a tree trunk grows thicker year after year. Explain each with the correct meristem. [4]

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Grass has intercalary meristem at the base of leaves.
Grazing removes the upper leaf but not the base, so growth continues.
A tree has lateral meristem (cambium) along the stem.
Cambium divides to add new cells, increasing girth.

Answer: Intercalary meristem for grass; lateral meristem for the tree trunk.

Example 5: Case: wilted stem · 4 marks · Case-basedHOTS / competency

Case. A plant stem placed in red ink shows red streaks in the inner part of the stem and no colour in the outer ring of food-carrying cells. (i) Name the tissue showing red. [1] (ii) State the direction of movement. [1] (iii) Why does the dye not enter the sieve tubes? [2]

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(i) Xylem.
(ii) Upwards.
(iii) Phloem carries food made in the leaves and does not draw water from the cut end.

Answer: (i) Xylem (ii) Upwards (iii) Phloem carries food from leaves, not water from the cut end.

Where students lose marks in Plant Tissues: Meristematic and Permanent

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Writing that xylem carries food
Xylem and phloem are mixed up.
Do this: Xylem is for water and minerals; phloem for food.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Saying all permanent tissue is dead
Only some (sclerenchyma, xylem vessels) are dead.
Do this: Name which are living.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Forgetting lateral meristem for girth
Candidates write apical.
Do this: Apical is for length, lateral for girth.
Usually costs: 1 mark.

Exam tips

Use a table for xylem versus phloem with substance, direction and cell type.
Always state the location and function of each tissue.
Do not confuse companion cells with guard cells.
Mention lignin for dead tissue.

Practice questions on Plant Tissues: Meristematic and Permanent

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
A thin section of a young leaf stalk shows living cells with unevenly thickened corners. The tissue is:
(a) parenchyma
(b) collenchyma
(c) sclerenchyma
(d) xylem
Hint
Flexible support.
Answer
(b) Collenchyma.
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level
What is aerenchyma and where is it found? [2]
Hint
Floating.
Answer
Parenchyma with large air spaces, found in aquatic plants, giving buoyancy.
Q3 · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
Why are sclerenchyma cells dead? [2]
Hint
Lignin.
Answer
Lignin deposition makes the walls very thick and seals the cell, so the contents die and the cell becomes a strong support.
Q4 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): Meristematic cells have no intercellular spaces.
Reason (R): They are compactly packed so that dividing cells form orderly growth.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.
Hint
Packing.
Answer
(a).
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Describe the structure of a sieve tube and the role of the companion cell. [3]
Hint
Perforated plates.
Answer
A sieve tube is a living tube of cells with perforated sieve plates and no nucleus; the companion cell lies beside it and controls it.
Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Compare parenchyma and collenchyma on cell wall, living status and function. [3]
Hint
Table.
Answer
Parenchyma: thin cellulose walls, living, storage; collenchyma: corners thickened with cellulose and pectin, living, flexible support.
Q7 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level
A tree grows tall but the pith in the middle becomes useless. Which tissue enables the tree to keep growing in girth? [2]
Hint
Cambium.
Answer
The cambium (lateral meristem) keeps adding new xylem and phloem.
Q8 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Explain why a hollow bamboo is both strong and light, naming the tissue in its wall. [3]
Hint
Strength tissue.
Answer
Sclerenchyma fibres give strength, and the hollow centre keeps it light.
Q9 · 3 marks · Case-basedHOTS / competency
Case. In a potted plant the main stem tip is nipped off. (i) Which tissue is removed? [1] (ii) Predict what the side buds do. [1] (iii) Which tissue is responsible for later thickening? [1]
Hint
Apical dominance.
Answer
(i) The apical meristem. (ii) They grow, giving a bushy plant. (iii) Lateral meristem (cambium).
Q10 · 4 marks · Case-basedHOTS / competency
Case. The leaf stalk of a plant folds in strong wind without breaking, while its leaf vein supports the blade. Name the tissue that makes the stalk flexible and the tissue that carries sugar out of the leaf, with a reason for each. [4]
Hint
Think flexibility and conduction.
Answer
Collenchyma, because it is living with thickened corners and gives flexible support; phloem, because it carries prepared food away from the leaf.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Tissue for height growth?Show answer
Apical meristem.
2.Dead simple tissue?Show answer
Sclerenchyma.
3.Tissue carrying water?Show answer
Xylem.
4.Cells of phloem?Show answer
Sieve tubes, companion cells, fibres and parenchyma.
5.Gives buoyancy?Show answer
Aerenchyma.

Plant Tissues: Meristematic and Permanent: frequently asked questions

Where is intercalary meristem found?

At the base of leaves or internodes, as in grasses.

Is phloem fully living?

Mostly; the fibres are dead.

What is a complex tissue?

A tissue made of more than one type of cell.