I seem to have missed the beginning of this thread but (limericks not withstanding) there is a potentially interesting aspect. Some contributers will be aware that some orchids are CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) plants; that is to say, they have the ability to keep their stomata closed during the day to conserve moisture. They delay gas exchange until the cool of the night and utilise an additional malic acid stage for the storage of CO2 which they then photosynthesise in the light of the next day.
I recall from my distant undergraduate days that we could use something like nail varnish to paint onto the undersurface of the leaf (where most stomata are). When dry, a thin acetate 'peel' could be taken off with the physical imprint of microscopic leaf detail (indeed, even sub-microscopic as in SEM preparations!). This 'peel' could then be sandwiched between 35mm slide glasses and projected where the details could be effectively magnified as if with a microscope. It occurs to me that peels made in the day and peels made in the night could reveal whether the stomata are/were open or closed. I must dissolve some acetate and acetone or pluck up courage to buy myself some nail-varnish but, in the meantime, it would be interesting to know if anyone else has been down this road. (ie; acetate peel projection, not the varnishing of their nails!) John Stanley ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, October 06, 2006 11:00 AM Subject: Orchids Digest, Vol 8, Issue 343 > Message: 3 > Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2006 19:13:11 -0400 > From: "Andrew Easton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [OGD] Counting stomata with magnifying glasses. > To: <[email protected]> > Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > My oh My! The knowledge flows out. Iris reminds me of a childhood > limerick: There was an old man from Peru, who didn't have anything to do. > He sat on the stairs and counted his hairs and found he was seventy two. I > am sure counting stomatal numbers on a Phalaenopsis leaf would be > similarly enlightening. > > Andy Easton _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
