Large Surface Area of Leaf
Capture maximum light
Midrib and Vein Network
Supports large surface area
Leaves arranged to minimise overlap
All leaves can gain maximum light absorbance
Thin Leaf Lamina
Light can transmit through whole leaf
Stomatal Pores
Carbon dioxide can move out of leaf
Air spaces in spongy mesophyll
Carbon dioxide can diffuse to photosynthesising cells e.g.palisade cells
Cuticle and upper epidermis are transparent
Allows light to penetrate these layers to reach mesophyll
Thin cellulose cell walls
Allows light to penetrate these layers to reach mesophyll
Large vacuoles are found in palisade cells
Pushes chloroplasts to the edge of cell = single layer of chloroplasts around periphery = no shade from other chloroplasts
Columnar epithelium palisade cells
Large number of palisade cells packed tightly into small space therefore large number of chloroplasts for light absorbance
Palisade cells at right angle to leaf surface
Light only passes through 3 cell walls before reaching a chloroplast (2 epidermal and 1 palisade) so more light is transmitted and less absorbed by cell walls
Chloroplasts can move within palisade cell
Can adjust to different light intensities e.g. at top of cell at low light intensity; bottom of cell at high light intensity to avoid bleaching
Different pigments arranged in the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts
Can absorb light at a wide range of wavelengths
Single layer of pigments along the thylakoid membrane
Maximise light absorbance as light is more likely to hit a pigment
Chloroplasts have a large surface area
Maximise light absorbance
Chloroplasts rotate within cell
Maximise light absorbance
5x as many chloroplasts in palisade cells than spongy cells
Maximise light absorbance as palisade cells are found on the surface of the leaf
Thylakoid membrane is folded and stacked within the chloroplast
Increase surface area to accommodate more pigments for photosynthesis