In this article we will discuss about the anatomy of funaria with the help of a suitable diagram.
Internally, the stem is differentiated (Fig. 4.1D) into a narrow central cylinder and a broad cortex, bound by epidermis. The epidermis is a one-cell thick layer of chlorophyllous cells. The cortex comprises thin-walled cells of relatively bigger size in the inner region and of smaller cells in the outer region. In a young stem the outer cells of cortex are chlorophyllous.
In an old stem the outer cells of cortex become thick-walled, their chloroplasts degenerate and these cells turn brown; the inner cells, however, remain thin-walled. The central cylinder is made up of long narrow cells (Fig. 4. 1E) with sparse cytoplasm. In a transverse section it is a clearly demarcated conducting region of many cells in the main axis, and a couple of cells in a branch.
A leaf has a well-defined midrib of many cells. The leaf blade or wings, on either side of the midrib, are single layered (uni-stratose). In the centre of the midrib are a few narrow cells which constitute the conducting strand (Fig. 4.1F). The blade is made up of polygonal cells, each with numerous discoid chloroplasts, at times showing conspicuous lobbing.