Cucurbita (Squash)

Plant AnatomyJames Craig

Red Warty Thing

Strawberry

BACKGROUND:

Herbatious dicotyledon

Appears to be one of the first domesticated species. The oldest remains have been found in Mexico, 8750 BC

Brought to Europe in the 1500's by Spanish and French Explorers.

Thousands of varieties of squashBlue Hubbard

Chirimen

Galeux d'Eysines

Black Futsu

Patisson Strie

http://www.felcopruners.net/catalog.0.html3.0.html

Primary VeinSecondary Vein

Tertiary Vein

Leaf:DorsiventralNet Venation pattern2 layers of palisade cells

Spongy MesophyllPalisade Cells

Vein

Cotyledon

Adaxial

Abaxial

Stomata

Cotyledon Leaf Peels

Wavy/Crenulated Cells

Stomata: Raised Anomocytic (no subsidiary cells)

Paradermal section

Epidermis

Palisade Cells

Open SystemBicollateralVery small amount of 2ndary growth which is limited to the vascular bundle2ndary Phloem occurs only in the external phloem

Stem Vascular Bundle: 10X (Toluidine Blue-O)

Internal Phloem

Perivascular Fibers

Parenchyma

Xylem

Darkly Stained Companion Cells

External Phloem

Vascular Cambium

Stem 2ndary growth

10x

Angular Collenchyma

Epidermis

Perivascular Fibers

Transverse Stem: 20X Toluidine Blue-O

Stem Longitudinal Section: 10x

Sieve Plates

Xylem

Phloem

Toluidine Blue-O Methylene Blue

Sieve Plate

anubis.ru.ac.za/virtualplant/anatomy/prac1a.htm

Stem To Root Transition: Toluidine Blue-O

4x 4x 4x

4x 10x 10x

4x 10x10x

Pith cavity

Tetrarch

Adventitious Root

Vascular Vein

Toluidine Blue-O 4x

Root Hair Zone

Differentiation Zone

4x4x

Root Cap

Central Cylinder

Cortex

Quiescent Center

Apical Initials

10x Wholemount

Rhizodermis

Protoderm

Apical Meristem 20X

Leaf Primordia approximately 10 total

Apical Meristem

Multicellular Uniseriate Trichomes

Secretory Trichomes

Stalked Capitate Head

Capitate Head

Oil Droplet

Pollen Grains 20x (Toluidine Blue-O)

Apertures

Exine

Flower Multicellular Uniseriate Trichomes(Toluidine Blue-O)

Yellow/Orange Pigment

20x

20x

10x

Cucurbitis Fruit Cross-section 4X (Toluidine Blue-O)

Primary Vascular Bundles

20x

Lenticel

Periderm

Filling Tissue Phellogen

Bibliography

Exercise 1: the stem - variation in structure. anubis.ru.ac.za/virtualplant/anatomy/prac1a.htm

Harvest Moon Farms & Seed Company. http://www.felcopruners.net/catalog.0.html3.0.html

Cucurbitis. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/1492/cucurbits.html

I. Agbagwa and B. Ndukwu. The value of morpho-anatomical features in the systematics of Cucurbita L. (Cucurbitaceae) species in Nigeria. African Journal of Biotechnology. Vol. 3 pp. 541-546, October 2004

Katherine Esau. Plant Anatomy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York. 1965

Richard Crang & Andry Vassilyev. Plant Anatomy. McGraw Hill Companies Inc. 2003