Plant tissues. Protection
TRICHOMES
Species: mallow (Malva silvestris).
Technique: paraffin embedding, section stained with Alcian blue / safranin.
b) Organ: stem, pluricellular and unicellular trichomes.
Species: mallow (Malva silvestris).
Technique: paraffin embedding, section stained with Alcian blue / safranin.
c) Organ: stem, unicellular elongated trichome.
Species: mallow (Malva silevestris).
Technique: paraffin embedding, section stained with toluidin blue.
d) Organ: leaf, pluricellular trichome.
Species: kiwi (Actinia deliciosa).
Technique: paraffin embedding section stained with haematoxylin - eosin.
e) Organ: leaf, pluricellular trichome.
Species: kiwi (Actinia deliciosa).
Technique: paraffin embedding section stained with haematoxylin - eosin.
Many plant species develop hairs, or trichomes, in the epidermal layer, although smooth epidermal surfaces can also be found in many plants. There is a broad morphological variety of trichomes, which are classified in two main groups based on their function: protective and glandular. Both arise from epidermal cells. Some epidermal cells elongate to become unicellular trichomes or divide to form multicellular trichomes. In the figure above, several types of protective trichomes can be observed, both unicellular and multicellular, with different shapes: papillary (A) and elongated (B, C, and E). However, they may also be stellate, branched, etc. (see also Figures 1 and 2). Trichomes may contain living or dead cells and generally have a cuticle.
