Identifying Leaf Structures in a Dicotyledonous Plant (CIE IGCSE Biology: Co-ordinated Sciences (Double Award))

• The leaves of dicotyledonous plants contain the following structures:
  • Chloroplasts
  • Cuticle
  • Guard cells
  • Stomata
  • Upper and lower epidermis
  • Palisade mesophyll
  • Spongy mesophyll
  • Air spaces
  • Vascular bundles containing xylem and phloem

Dicotyledonous plant leaf structure diagram

Leaf structure is adapted to maximise the rate of photosynthesis

Extended Tier Only

• The structures within dicotyledonous leaves are all adaptations that aid photosynthesis:

 Leaf structures and functions table