Question

Sclerenchymatous cells have a large percentage of________in their cell walls.
a. Silica
b. Lignin
c. Pectin
d. Cellulose

Answer 1

Hint: In plants, Sclerenchyma supports tissue made up of any of the different types of hard woody cells. Mature cells of sclerenchyma are typically dead cells that have lignin-containing secondary walls heavily thickened. The cells are rigid and non-stretchable and are typically located in plant bodies, such as bark or mature stems, in nongrowing regions.

Complete answer:
Sclerenchyma is one of the three types of plant soil or fundamental tissue; the other two types are parenchyma, a living thin-walled tissue and collenchyma with irregular walls that is a living support tissue. In several different shapes and sizes, Sclerenchyma cells occur, but two main forms occur that are fibres and sclereids. Sclerenchyma is one of the three types of plant soil or fundamental tissue; the other two types are parenchyma, a living thin-walled tissue and collenchyma with irregular walls that is a living support tissue. In several different shapes and sizes, Sclerenchyma cells occur, but two main forms occur: fibres and sclereids.

Fibres are highly elongated cells whose long, tapering ends interlock, providing a plant with maximum support. They sometimes occur in bundles or strands and, including the stem, the roots, and the vascular bundles in leaves, can be found almost anywhere in the plant body. Many of these fibres are essential sources of raw material for textiles and other woven products, including seed hairs, leaf fibres and bast fibres. In different tissues of the plant, such as the peridermis, cortex, pith, xylem, and phloem, sclereids are highly variable in form and are present. They also occur in leaves and fruits and constitute the nuts 'hard shell and many seeds' outer hard coat.

Sclereids are also responsible for the rough appearance of pears and guava, often referred to as stone cells. When mature, Sclerenchyma tissue is composed of dead cells that have strongly thickened lignin-containing walls and a high cellulose content, and acts as a structural support feature in plants. The percentage of lignin in the cell walls is higher.

Note: An perfect example of sclerenchyma fibres, with exceptional cell wall thickness and weight, is Flax bast fibre cells. The anatomical characteristics that affect the quality of fibre bundles include the number of cells in a bundle, the length of the individual fibres, the uniformity of the length of the fibre cells, the degree of helical fibre twisting within the bundle, the width of the cell wall, and the lumen diameter ratio of the cell.