Cucurbita (Squash)

Plant Anatomy
James Craig
Strawberry
Chirimen

Black Futsu

Patisson Strie

Galeux d'Eysines
Red Warty Thing 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.

Blue Hubbard Thousands of varieties of squash http://www.felcopruners.net/catalog.0.html3.0.html

 Cotyledon

Primary Vein
Secondary Vein
Tertiary Vein

Spongy Mesophyll
Palisade Cells

Leaf:
Vein
Dorsiventral
Net Venation pattern
2 layers of palisade cells
 Cotyledon Leaf Peels

Stomata:
Raised
Anomocytic (no subsidiary cells)

Adaxial

Stomata

Wavy/Crenulated Cells

Abaxial
Paradermal section

Palisade Cells

Epidermis
 Internal Phloem

Vascular Cambium
Xylem
External Phloem

Parenchyma

Perivascular Fibers
Darkly Stained
Companion Cells

Stem 2ndary growth

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

Open System
Bicollateral
Very small amount of 2ndary growth which is limited
to the vascular bundle
2ndary Phloem occurs only in the external phloem
10x
Transverse Stem: 20X Toluidine Blue-O

Perivascular Fibers

Epidermis

Angular Collenchyma
 Xylem

Sieve Plates Phloem

Toluidine Blue-O Methylene Blue

Stem Longitudinal Section: 10x

Sieve Plate
anubis.ru.ac.za/virtualplant/anatomy/prac1a.ht
m
 Stem To Root Transition: Toluidine Blue-O

Pith
cavity

4x 4x 4x

4x 10x 10x

Tetrarch

10x 4x 10x
 Differentiation Zone
Adventitious Root

Root Hair Zone

4x 4x

Vascular Vein

Toluidine Blue-O 4x
 Root Cap

Quiescent Center

Central Cylinder

Apical Initials
Cortex

Rhizodermis
Protoderm

10x Wholemount
 Apical Meristem

Leaf Primordia
approximately 10 total

Apical Meristem 20X

 Multicellular Uniseriate
Trichomes

Secretory Trichomes

Stalked Capitate Head

Capitate Head
 Oil Droplet

Apertures

Exine

Pollen Grains 20x (Toluidine Blue-O)

 Flower Multicellular Uniseriate Trichomes
(Toluidine Blue-O)

Yellow/Orange Pigment

10x

20x

20x
 Cucurbitis Fruit Cross-section 4X
(Toluidine Blue-O)

Primary
Vascular Bundles

Filling Tissue Phellogen

Periderm

Lenticel

20x
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