Question

Ramya noticed a person was trying to break a coconut shell with a hammer and wondered "What makes the shell so tought?".

Answer 1

$\bullet$ Sclerenchyma is composed of long, narrow dead cells.
$\bullet$ These cells develop very thick walls due to the deposition of lignin. It provides strength to plant parts.
$\bullet$ There are two types of sclerenchyma cells- fibres and sclereids.
$\bullet$ Sclereids are short cells. They may occur singly or in clumps. They make up the hard seed coat of many seeds and hard coconut shell.
$\bullet$ Fibres are long, tapered cells in the vascular tissue of root and shoot. They make economically important plant fibres.