Question

What does the word “mesophyll” mean?

Answer 1

We must remember that it is the internal ground tissue located between two epidermal cell layers and is composed of two kinds of tissues. The most important role of mesophyll cells is in the process of photosynthesis as they allow carbon dioxide to move freely.

Complete answer:
We also remember that the mesophyll is the soft tissue found inside the leaf and plays an important role in the process of photosynthesis.
Mesophyll cells are located between the upper and lower epidermis and make the bulk of internal tissue of the leaves. They vary in shape and form a type of ground tissue.
There different types of mesophyll seen in dicotyledonous plants. In leaves of dicotyledonous plants there are two types of mesophyll cells, palisade mesophyll and spongy mesophyll. Palisade Mesophyll cells form a layer beneath the upper epidermis and they are elongated and cylindrical in shape whereas spongy mesophyll cells are internal to the lower layer of the leaf and they have huge gaps for maximum air diffusion and gas exchange. Spongy cells do not contain more chloroplast compared to palisade cells and are not well suited for the process of photosynthesis.
In leaves monocotyledonous plants, mesophyll cells are not differentiated into two types as per their position in leaves, although those cells circling vascular tissue form a distinct cell-type called the bundle sheath cell. Mesophyll cells in monocotyledonous leaves are highly lobed.
The mesophyll cell contains a large number of chloroplast, chloroplast is the pigment which helps in photosynthesis, which carry out photosynthetic carbon assimilation and facilitates plant growth.

Note:
As we know that mesophyll cells are highly differentiated cells which make up the mesophyll layer which is found in the leaves of the plant. The word mesophyll is derived from Greek work mesos meaning middle and phyllo meaning leaf as it is present in the middle of leaf.