256 



LEAVES 



Starch occurs in the form of starch grains, which are light in 

 color and have a characteristic shape and structure as shown in 

 Figure 23^. When starch grains are treated with iodine, they 

 turn dark blue, and this color test can be applied directly to the 

 leaf to indicate the amount of starch present and, therefore, the 

 rate of photosynthesis. In applying the test, the leaf is first 

 treated with hot alcohol to remove the chlorophyll. The leaf, 



Fig. 234. — Starch grains from a Potato tuber. A, simple grains; B, 

 half-compound grain; C and D compound grains. Enlarged 540 times. 

 After Hay den. 



now almost white, is immersed in the iodine solution which turns 

 it blue, if starch is present, with the depth of blue roughly indicat- 

 ing the amount of starch present. If no starch is present, then 

 the leaf takes only the brownish color of the iodine solution. 

 This test is of considerable service in experiments on photosyn- 

 thesis as its application in Figure 235 shows. 



Proteins are made in leaves, but in what part of the leaf 

 they are made is not known. The main evidence that they 

 are formed in leaves is that large quantities of them are being 

 continuously carried away through the veins to the stem. That 

 light is essential in the formation of proteins is doubtful, for 

 there is considerable evidence that the energy employed in their 

 synthesis comes from chemical action and not directly from sun- 

 light. Although proteins are of many kinds, all are formed by 



