HISTOLOGY OF HIGHER PLANTS 



63 



of this plant are long and narrow, somewhat resembling those of 

 grasses. There is a pronounced midrib and the so-called veins 



FIG. 26. Histology of the Leaf of Tradescantia virginica. 



A. Part of a transverse section of the leaf. 



B. Piece of the epidermis stripped from the lower surface of the leaf. 



C. Chlorophyll cells from the mesophyll, as seen in a longitudinal section of the leaf. 



D. Portions of four vessels from a vascular bundle, with spiral and annular markings, as 



seen in a longitudinal section of the bundle. 



(All more or less highly magnified.) 

 a.c. air-cavity; c.c. chlorophyll cell; cp. chloroplastids ; ep.c. epidermic cell; epd. epi- 

 dermis; g.c. guard-cell ; mes. mesophyll ; nu. nucleus ; par. colourless parenchyma ; 

 sh. sheath of vascular bundle, composed of thin- walled cells containing starch grains ; 

 sJc. thick-walled skeletal tissue; st. stoma; v.b. vascular bundle; ves. vessels. 



run parallel with one another from base to apex, as in all typical^ 



Monocotyledons. 



i If we cut a thin transverse section of a living leaf and 



examine it under the microscope in a drop of water (Fig. 26, A) we 



