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How does a plant stand up straight and not wilt? What mechanism controls this?

Is this something to do with storing waste and left-over energy? I know the plant has the ability to stop photosynthesizing----> Does this have anything to do with how the plant stays upright?

Public Comments

1. Think about filling a ziploc bag with water. If you fill it enough it becomes pretty rigid. I believe this is called turgor pressure. This and the fact that plant cell walls are stiff provide rigidity.
2. The plant cell contains a cell wall which is located on the outside of the cell which keeps the cell rigid and also protects the organelles. Plants also contain a strucural polysaccharide. Type into google images plant cell and the wall will be visible. Hope this answers your questions
3. This is typically the plant stem habit, which has been mostly considered to be simply maintained solely by stiff supporting tissues and organs and designed toward static and dynamic stability.
4. Plants put some energy into building rigid cell walls. Also, the passive act of transporting water from the roots to the leaves creates turgor pressure which helps keep the plant up right. Woody plants also can build secondary tissues (or wood) for extra support. Both of these mechanisms, rigid cell walls and turgor pressure, are responsible for plant structure.
5. Plant cells have unique structures that are different from other organisms such as Cell Wall and Vacuole. Cell Wall in plant cell is mainly compose of cellulose (polysaccharides) which gives cell the rigidity and strength for standing up straight as well as wilt (seen in stems and leaves). Vacuole in plant cell has several important function such as store waste products and water. The water inside vacuole helps the cell maintains its tugor pressure. Turgor pressure also gives the cell wall rigidity. So Cell Wall and Vacuole are important structures that help the plant stand up straight, but also "wilt" because the rigidity helps the cells bend (this is why leaves and stems can bend).