Lenticels are pores in branches that allow gas exchange.

Lenticels are pores in branches that allow gas exchange.

• A. Gas exchange in leaves
• B. Water transport
• C. Nutrient exchange
• D. Pores in branches that allow gas exchange

Answer: (D)

Lenticels serve as diffusion pores that let gases move between the inside of a woody stem and the outside air. In woody plants, the bark (periderm) forms a protective, nearly watertight surface, which would block gas exchange if not for lenticels. These spots have loosely arranged cells and air spaces that provide a pathway for oxygen to reach living cells beneath the bark and for carbon dioxide to exit. This supports respiration of tissues like the cortex and cambium that lie under the bark. Leaves exchange gases mainly through stomata on the leaf surface, not lenticels, and water movement occurs through xylem while nutrients move through phloem. So the best description is that lenticels are pores in branches that allow gas exchange.

Lenticels serve as diffusion pores that let gases move between the inside of a woody stem and the outside air. In woody plants, the bark (periderm) forms a protective, nearly watertight surface, which would block gas exchange if not for lenticels. These spots have loosely arranged cells and air spaces that provide a pathway for oxygen to reach living cells beneath the bark and for carbon dioxide to exit. This supports respiration of tissues like the cortex and cambium that lie under the bark.

Leaves exchange gases mainly through stomata on the leaf surface, not lenticels, and water movement occurs through xylem while nutrients move through phloem. So the best description is that lenticels are pores in branches that allow gas exchange.