What are Permanent tissues?
Permanent tissues are the plant tissues composed of cells that have lost the power of dividing.
When meristematic tissues have divided and reached the final stage of division, they attain maturity. After this point, these tissues do not divide anymore. They only get differentiated into different parts and these non-dividing tissues become the Permanent tissues.
Development of permanent tissues
So, the main difference between meristematic tissue and permanent tissue is that the former can divide and grow, while the latter cannot. In other words, permanent tissues are nothing but matured meristematic tissues.
What are the types of permanent tissues?
There are mainly two types of permanent tissues:
(i) Simple tissue
The very word ‘simple’ means these permanent tissues have a simple structure. All the cells of a simple permanent tissue are almost the same. There are three subtypes of the simple permanent tissues –
- Parenchyma
- Collenchyma
- Sclerenchyma
Parenchyma can be called a ‘filler’ tissue; collenchyma is a ‘supporter’ and sclerenchyma is a ‘protector’ tissue.
(ii) Complex tissue
These tissues have a complex structure as compared to simple tissues. We will learn more about these tissues in the later segments.