Histology of medicinal plantsMansfield, William James
Science
Histology of medicinal plants
Mansfield, William James
Botany, Medical; Plant anatomy
Under synthetic tissue are grouped all tissues and cells which form
substances or compounds other than protoplasm. Such compounds are
stored either in special cavities or in the cells of the plant, as
the glandular hairs; internal secreting cavities of barks, stems,
leaves, fruits, seeds, and flowers; photosynthetic cells or cells
with chlorophyll, and the parenchymatic cells which form starch,
sugar, fats, alkaloids, etc.
PHOTOSYNTHETIC TISSUE
The most important non-glandular synthetic tissue is the
photosynthetic tissue, which is composed of the chlorophyll-bearing
cells of the plant. These are the so-called green cells of leaves, of
stems of herbs, of young woody stems, and in the older woody stems of
plants like wild cherry, birch, etc. The greater part of the tissue
of leaves is composed of chlorophyll-bearing cells.
Leaves collectively constitute the greatest synthetic manufacturing
plant in the world, because the green cells of the leaf produce most
of the food of men and animals. The two compounds utilized in the
manufacture of food are carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O). These
two compounds are combined by chlorophyll through the agency of light
into starch. Chemically this reaction may be expressed as follows:
6CO₂ + 5H₂O = 2C₆H₁₀O₅ + 6O₂.
During the day a large quantity of starch is formed. At night through
the action of a ferment the excess of starch remaining in the leaf
is converted into sugar (C₆H₁₂O₆) - C₆H₁₀O₅ + H₂O = C₆H₁₂O₆. In this
form it is distributed to the living cells of the plant. The presence
or absence of starch in leaves is easily ascertained by placing the
leaf in hot alcohol to remove the chlorophyll, and by adding Lugol’s
solution. If starch is present, the contents of the cells will become
bluish black; but if no starch is present, the cells remain colorless.
GLANDULAR TISSUE
The =glandular tissue= of the plant is divided into two groups,
according to where it occurs. These groups are, first, =external=
glandular tissue, and secondly, =internal= glandular tissue. The most
important external glandular tissue is composed of the glandular
hairs. These are divided into two groups: first, =unicellular=; and
secondly, =multicellular= glandular hairs.
UNICELLULAR GLANDULAR HAIRS
The =unicellular glandular hairs= are either sessile or stalked.
=Sessile unicellular hairs= occur in digitalis leaves.
=Stalked unicellular hairs= of digitalis are shown on Plate 60, Fig.
2.
=Unicellular uniseriate stalked glandular hairs= occur on the stems
of the common house geranium (Plate 61, Fig. 2), on the leaves of
butternut, the leaves and stems of marrubium peregrinum (Plate 98,
Fig. 5), and in arnica flowers. The stalk varies from two to ten
cells; in eriodictyon the cells vary from four to eight cells.
Unicellular multiseriate stalked glandular hairs are not of common
occurrence.
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