96 



ANATOMY OF STEMS, ROOTS, AND LEAVES 



higher or flowering plants than in the lower forms. Some cells 

 have thin walls and contain a great deal of food materials which 

 make them valuable foods for man and other animals. Some 

 are fibrous in character and have thick walls which make them 



Fia. 70. Cross-section of fibro-vascular bundle from corn stem. 



useful in many industries. We will give a brief discussion of 

 these different types of cells. 



Parenchyma. The cells of pith are large, somewhat vari- 

 able in size, thin-walled, more or less spherical in shape and 

 usually show irregular spaces between them. They are known 

 as parenchyma or soft cells. (Fig- 68.) 



The great majority of the cells of fruits, grains and other 

 edible parts of plants are made up of parenchyma cells. Their 



