∞ generated and posted on 2016.12.04 ∞
Failure to display turgidity especially as seen with plant cells.
| Flaccidity refers to a lack of literally cellular 'stiffness' that results from more water leaving a cytoplasm than enters it. |
The suspension of cells from plants in isotonic solutions results in the state termed flaccidity. On a cellular level it represents a lack of pressure of the plasma membrane against the plant cell wall.
A more extreme state, termed plasmolysis, is seen given suspension of cells in a hypertonic solution, i.e., as occurs with bacteria suspended in solutions containing high salt or sugar concentrations.
Plant cells ideally exist within hypotonic solutions, that is, ones in which solute concentrations are low, which particularly is fresh water. Plants when the solutions bathing their cells are no longer hypotonic in fact "let you know" by wilting, which explicitly is an indication of flaccidity.