Plant Cell Mitosis Unlabeled Diagram

All 27 stages and parts on the diagram

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The stages, in order 5

Interphase The cell is not dividing. The nucleus is whole, with a nucleolus inside.
Prophase The chromosomes condense into short, thick threads. They can now be seen one by one.
Metaphase The chromosomes line up across the middle of the cell. Spindle fibers hold them from both ends.
Anaphase The sister chromatids are pulled to opposite ends. Each one is now a chromosome of its own.
Telophase A nucleus forms again at each end. In a plant cell a cell plate starts between them.

Parts of the dividing cell 5

Cell wall A rigid layer around every plant cell. A dividing plant cell builds a new one across its middle.
Nucleus It holds the chromosomes. In interphase they are spread out and cannot be told apart.
Chromosomes Threads of DNA, each already copied. In prophase they shorten and thicken until they can be seen.
Spindle fibers Microtubules that move the chromosomes. In a plant cell there are no centrioles at their ends.
Cell plate The start of the new wall between the two nuclei. It grows outward from the middle.

Which stage? Root tip cells 10

Interphase A whole, round nucleus with a nucleolus inside. Most cells of a root tip look like this.
Metaphase The chromosomes form one line across the middle. Spindle fibers reach them from both ends.
Prophase Thick threads fill the nucleus. The chromosomes have condensed but have not lined up.
Anaphase Two sets of chromosomes are moving apart. Each set heads for one end of the cell.
Interphase A whole, round nucleus with a nucleolus inside. Most cells of a root tip look like this.
Prophase Thick threads fill the nucleus. The chromosomes have condensed but have not lined up.
Telophase Two new nuclei, one at each end. A cell plate is forming between them.
Anaphase Two sets of chromosomes are moving apart. Each set heads for one end of the cell.
Interphase A whole, round nucleus with a nucleolus inside. Most cells of a root tip look like this.
Metaphase The chromosomes form one line across the middle. Spindle fibers reach them from both ends.

Cytokinesis 7

Cell plate Vesicles fuse here to form a plate. It grows outward until it meets the side walls.
Vesicles Small sacs from the Golgi apparatus. They carry wall material to the middle and fuse there.
Phragmoplast Microtubules on both sides of the cell plate. Vesicles travel along them to the plate.
New cell wall The finished wall between the two daughter cells. It forms where the cell plate was.
Daughter cells Two cells where there was one. Each has its own nucleus.
Cleavage furrow The groove where an animal cell pinches in. It deepens until the cell is two.
Contractile ring A ring of protein filaments under the membrane. It tightens and pinches the cell in two.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 against Kimball's Biology Pages: Mitosis; Wikipedia: Mitosis, Cytokinesis and Cell plate, text only; Nature Education, Scitable: Replication and Distribution of DNA during Mitosis, and cytokinesis; two plant cell biology books and two school and college textbooks read on archive.org by full-text search. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

This unlabeled diagram of plant cell mitosis fits one sheet. Name the five cells at the top, write a stage in each dividing cell of the root tip, then name the parts of the cell building its new wall.

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Which stage is which, by sight

A whole round nucleus with a dot inside is interphase. Thick threads in the nucleus are prophase. One row of chromosomes across the middle is metaphase, two rows moving apart anaphase, and a nucleus at each end with a line between them telophase. Seven root tip cells are dividing: two each in prophase, metaphase and anaphase, one in telophase.

The parts, top and bottom

Top: the thick band round a cell is the cell wall, the thin lines holding the chromosomes are spindle fibers, and the line across the last cell is the cell plate. Bottom: the small round sacs are vesicles, the short lines beside the plate the phragmoplast, and the finished wall between the two daughter cells the new cell wall.

The rounded cell with no wall is an animal cell, drawn for contrast: its notch is the cleavage furrow, its dotted band the contractile ring.
Telophase and cytokinesis overlap: the telophase cell at the top already has a cell plate between its two nuclei.

Questions and answers

What are the stages of mitosis in a plant cell, in order?

Prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase. Interphase, the first cell on the sheet, comes before mitosis and is when the chromosomes are copied. Some courses add prometaphase after prophase and, in plant cells only, preprophase before it. This sheet asks for neither.

What is the phragmoplast in a plant cell?

An array of microtubules that guides and holds up the cell plate as it forms. It is put together from what is left of the spindle, vesicles travel along it to the middle of the cell, and it disappears once the plate reaches the sides.

Why are most root tip cells in interphase?

Because interphase is a much longer part of the cell cycle than the division itself. A slide catches every cell at one moment, so more of them are found between divisions. On this sheet every cell that is not dividing is in interphase.

Does the unlabeled diagram come with an answer key?

Yes. The key is the same sheet with each name written on its cell or part. In the root tip it names ten cells: the seven that are dividing and three that are in interphase.