Question

The food of plant is stored in
(a) Sclerenchyma
(b) Parenchyma
(c) Collenchyma
(d) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: The ground tissue of a plant consists of all the tissues that are excluded from the dermal and vascular groups of tissues. These ground tissues are divided into three types:
1. Sclerenchyma
2. Parenchyma
3. Collenchyma

Complete Answer:
Sclerenchyma is responsible for the hardness and stiffness of a plant. It functions as the support tissue in a plant. Sclerenchyma are generally of two types:
1. Fibers
2. Sclereids
The cell walls of sclerenchyma consist of substances like cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose. Plants that have stopped the process of elongation usually have sclerenchymatous tissue as the principal tissues for support.
Collenchyma tissue is made up of cells that are elongated. These collenchymatous cells have irregularly thickened cell walls. Collenchymatous cells provide structural integrity in growing shoots and leaves of a plant. Collenchymatous cells are mostly living cells. The cells of collenchyma generally have one thick primary cell wall. This cell wall is made out of cellulose and pectin.
Parenchyma are tissues that usually serve the function of acting as a filler tissue in the softer regions of a plant. The parenchymatous tissues form various regions of a plant. These regions include the cortex and the pith of the plant stems and the endosperm of the seeds.

Therefore, the food of plants is stored in parenchyma. Hence, the correct option is (b) Parenchyma.

Note:
Fibers of sclerenchymatous tissues are economically very important as these fibers are used in the manufacturing of many fabric materials like jute, flax, hemp and ramie.
Mature sclerenchymatous tissues are composed of dead cells housing extremely thick cell walls. These thick cell walls make upto 90% of the volume of a sclerenchymatous cell.