Chapter 1. The Plant Cell
Figure 1: Electron micrograph of a typical plant cell from a thale cress root tip.
The vast majority of living organisms on the Earth are single celled, but ourselves or plants are comprised of numerous cells that are interconnected. Whether we are referring to a single algal cell or a behemoth like a Giant Redwood tree, at the most basic level, the whole organism develops from divisions of a single cell. Therefore, a single cell is the fundamental self-replicating unit of life.
On the left is a micrograph of a typical plant cell from the root tip of a thale cress plant that shows some prominent parts of a typical plant cell. We will take a deeper look at the organelles and tissue-specific cell types in the upcoming chapters.
