A plant is made up of about 95% water, this being the main part of all living matter. When a plant cell is full with water or turgid, the resulting pressure of the water within the membrane or vacuole acts as a support for the cell and therefore the whole plant. This means that a plant that is losing more water than it is absorbing therefore causing the plant to collapse and wilt. In the case of aquatic plants they have very little internal support tissue and are supported by external water pressure. In order to survive, any organism must carry out a complex and chemical reaction. Raw materials for chemical reaction must be transported and brought into contact with each other through a medium, an ideal medium is water. Water is also used as one of the raw materials in photosynthesis, which is one of the most important processes in a plants development and growth.

Water moves though a plant starting with the root passing into the stem then into the leaves a

The function of the root structure is to both anchor the plant and to take up water containing essential salts and minerals. These functions require a large surface area. This large surface area is achieved by the end of a root, called the root cap, being covered in a large number of root hairs. This can be 2-4 hundred hairs per square millimetre the hairs can be the entry point of various plant diseases. This area of the root can be likened to the stem in structure. It has an epidermis, which is a single layer of cells that serve as both a protective and an absorptive function. Beneath this layer is an area called the parenchymatous cortex, the main function of which is respiration this produces energy for growth and mineral absorption. It can also be used for the storage of food where the root is an over wintering organ.

This is the loss of water through the leaves. A tree for instance can consume a great deal of water, about 900 litres, a day. Around 98% of the water taken up by the roots is lossed by transpiration leaving the rest to be used as part of the plants structure and for use in photosynthesis. Water leaves the leaf through the stomata. This is controlled by the use of two guard cells which when full of water or can be described as turgid cause the stomata to open and release water, if they lose their turgidity due to lack of water the stomata closes preventing water loss.

Some topics in this essay:
Water Uptake, FUNCTIONS WATER, WATER Water, , water plant, water moves, water loss, loss leaves, movement water, relatively low concentration, water loss leaves, single layer cells, cell wall, pressure water, water move, water leaves, water water,