Plant Cell Explorer

Species Dossier

Common name Canadian waterweed

Latin name Elodea canadensis

Habitat Cool, clear ponds and slow streams across North America

Why a model specimen Thin leaves, large chloroplasts, and easy visibility under a school microscope

70–110 µm Typical leaf cell

~30–50 Chloroplasts per cell

16–20 pg Genome (1C)

1.5×108 bp Estimated size

Photosynthesis in Action

Light reactions in the thylakoid membranes split water, release oxygen, and build ATP and NADPH. The Calvin cycle in the stroma fixes carbon dioxide into glucose.

Step 1: Photons strike a chloroplast thylakoid.

Photosynthesis Rate Simulator

Adjust the environmental inputs and watch how the limiting factor shapes output.

Light intensity 70%

CO₂ concentration 60%

0 Relative photosynthesis rate

0 O₂ released (units/s)

0 Glucose produced (units/s)

6CO₂ + 6H₂O + light → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

Tonicity & Turgor Pressure

Switch the bathing solution to see how water movement changes the cell.

Isotonic — water enters and leaves at equal rates. The vacuole and cell stay unchanged; turgor is balanced.