Internal Leaf Surface Increases Gas Exchange

Biological Strategy

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Distribute Gases

Gases of particular importance to living systems are oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. Oxygen and carbon dioxide are involved in respiration, so distributing these gases efficiently and effectively is important for a living system’s survival. However, gases are difficult to contain because they disperse easily. To accommodate this, living systems have strategies for confining gases and using gases’ properties to their advantage. For example, prairie dogs and mound-building termites build systems of tunnels and mounds that take advantage of wind to ventilate their underground homes.

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Flowering Plants

Clade Angiosperms (“receptacle seed”): Dandelions, oaks, grasses, cacti, apples

With 416 families containing some 300,000 known species, angiosperms are the most diverse group of plants, and they can be found around the globe in a wide variety of habitats. They are characterized by seeds that grow enclosed in ovaries, which are enclosed in flowers. The floral organs then develop into fruits of myriad kinds and dimensions, from simple seed casings on maples to elaborate fleshy growths like papayas. The oldest flower known from fossils, Montsechia vidalii, appeared during the Jurassic Period 130 million years ago. They are the primary food source for herbivorous animals, which in turn makes them the indirect food source for carnivores as well.

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The internal structure of a leaf increases gas exchange by providing a much greater surface area than is found externally.

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orangers d'andalousie - Granada

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Close-up of thorn on a blood orange tree.

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My beautiful picture

“A tree…has a lot of very obvious leaf surface. In fact, gas exchange between the photosynthetic cells of leaves and the atmosphere occurs at the walls of tortuous internal passages, so the functional surface area is from ten to more than thirty times greater than meets the eye. For an orange tree with two thousand leaves, the outer surface was measured as 200 square meters; but the internal surface for gas exchange is thirty times greater–6,000 square meters or 0.6 hectares (1.5 acres).” (Vogel 2003: 47)

Vogel S. Comparative Biomechanics: Life’s Physical World. Princeton: Princeton University Press; 2003. 580 p.

Last Updated September 14, 2016

References

Book

Comparative Biomechanics: Life's Physical World, Second Edition

Princeton University Press | February 24, 2021 | Steven Vogel

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