Based on a single regular cell structural model, the effects of loading rate on the compressive behaviour of plant and vegetative tissues have been qualitatively investigated. The cell walls were treated as a polymeric composite material with microfibrils embedded in the highly structured cell wall matrix. The rubber elasticity, the turgor permeability and the loading rate were taken into account to qualitatively predict the tissue stiffness, cell wall stress, turgor pressure, cell debonding force, and the percentage of weight loss of the cell fluid. The predicted results are consistant with the related experimental phenomena. (C) 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers.