★
Tall plants require thick stems for greater vascular flow and support (woody plants become thicker via secondary growth) - avoids shading from other plants

★
Only a finite amount of energy to devote to shoot growth or branching → diversity

★
Phyllotaxy - arrangement of leaves on a stem, determined by shoot apical meristem

★
Alternate phyllotaxy (common in angiosperms) - leaves are arranged in an ascending spiral up the stem, 137.5˚ from each other (reduces shading)

★
Undergo programmed cell death and are shed → self-pruning

★
>7 → self-pruning. Reduce self-shading to max light capture

★
Horizontal is good for low light, vertical is better for intense light

★
Roots will branch only in nitrate-rich patches, and synthesize more proteins involved in nitrate transport/assimilation

★
Mycorrhizal hyphae increase SA for absorbing water and minerals (esp. phosphate)

★
Apoplast - everything external to plasma membrane of living cells. Cell walls, extracellular spaces, interior of dead cells (vessel elements, tracheids)