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Why do leaves and flowers wilt when plant cells lose water?
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Cell wall
Cutaway drawing of a plant cell, showing the cell wall and internal organelles.
Leaves and flowers wilt when plant cells lose water because they rely on turgor pressure to maintain their structure and rigidity.12
In many nonwoody plants, the primary cell wall is thin and lacks the permanent stiffness provided by secondary cell walls. To remain erect, these cells depend on the vacuole being filled with water, which pushes the cell membrane against the cell wall. This process is analogous to how air pressure stiffens the sides of a pneumatic tire.341
When a plant loses more water through transpiration than it absorbs through its roots, the internal water pressure drops. As the cells lose this turgor, they can no longer support the plant's weight, causing the leaves and flowers to become droopy or wilted.213