Inside a leafThe diagram below shows a slice of a leaf magnified many times. Just like animals, the cells and tissues of plants are specialised and grouped together to form tissues which do particular jobs.

Upper epidermis

Palisade layer

Spongy layer

Lower epidermis

Look at the table below, on the left hand side are the names of some of the cells and tissues found in a leaf, below the table are boxes containing a description of some of the jobs these cells and tissues do. Cut out each description and stick it next to its name.

Cell or tissue name

Description of cell or tissue job

Upper epidermis

Palisade layer

Spongy layer

Lower epidermis

This layer is made of lots of tall thin cells which contain chloroplasts. These cells trap sunlight so the plant can make its own food.

These cells look like a line of bricks; there are openings between the cells called stomata. This is where carbon dioxide gets into the leaf and where oxygen and water get out of the leaf.

This layer is made of a line of cells and looks like a line of bricks. There are no openings in it. It stops water leaving the leaf.

These cells are loosely packed and there is lots of air space between them. Carbon dioxide can move between these cells to get to the palisade cells, water vapour moves out in the opposite direction.