Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks to identify the plant in which guard cells are dumb-bell shaped rather than kidney-shaped.
Step 2: Key Concepts and Approach:
In plant anatomy, guard cells surround the stomatal pore to regulate transpiration and gas exchange.
Dicotyledonous plants possess bean-shaped (or kidney-shaped) guard cells.
Monocotyledonous plants, specifically members of the grass family (Poaceae), possess specialized dumb-bell shaped guard cells.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
• Guard cells regulate the opening and closing of the stomata.
• In dicotyledonous plants (such as Mango, Cucumber, and Pongamia), the guard cells are reniform (kidney/bean-shaped) with thick inner walls and thin outer walls.
• In monocotyledonous plants, especially grasses like wheat, maize, rice, and barley, the guard cells have a distinct dumb-bell shape.
The narrow middle region has thick walls, while the bulbous ends have thin walls, which optimizes stomatal movement under varying water stress.
• Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a grass and a monocot, meaning it has dumb-bell shaped guard cells.
Step 4: Final Answer:
Dumb-bell shaped guard cells are present in monocots like Wheat.