Cells Containing Bundles of Thin Pointed Crystals of Calcium Oxalate (IMAGE)

Botanical Society of America

Cells Containing Bundles of Thin Pointed Crystals of Calcium Oxalate

Caption

A string of biforine-like cells associated with the anther of Dieffenbachia seguine (Jacq.) Schott. (Araceae). These cells contain bundles of thin pointed crystals of calcium oxalate, which they may be able to expel forcibly. It is plausible that these crystals protect the pollen from herbivory. Dieffenbachia seguine produces a diverse variety of crystal-containing cells in every organ, suggesting that crystals play a variety of roles in the plant, but the roles remain unknown. Anthers were hand-sectioned, cleared, and photographed under polarization microscopy. The image is approximately 1300x magnified.

Credit

Courtesy of Gary G. Cote, Radford University, Radford, Va.

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