Development of the Cuticular Layers in Angiosperm Leaves

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. ABSTRACT SCHIEFERSTEIN, R. H., and W. E. LOOMIS. (Iowa State U., Ames.) Development of the cuticular layer in angiosperm leaves. Amer. Jour. Bot. 46(9): 625-635. Illus. 1959.-The cuticu.larized layers of leaves and other plant surfaces consist of a primary cuticle, formed by the oxidation of oils on exposed cell walls, plus various surface and subsurface wax deposits. The primary cuticle appears to form rapidly on the walls of any living cell which is exposed to air. Surface wax is present on the mature leaves of about half of the 50 or 60 species studied. In general, wax is extruded at random through the newly formed cuticle of young leaves and accumulated in various reticulate to semicrystalline patterns. No wax pores through the cuticle or primary wall can be observed in electron-micrographs of dewaxed mature leaves. Wax accumulations on older leaves are generally subcuticular and may involve the entire epidermal wall. These deposits appear to be of considerably greater ecological significance than those on the surface. Isolated cuticular membranes from Hedera helix increased slightly in permeability to water with age of the leaf, but permeability to 2,4-D decreased 50 times. Evidence based on the patterns of cellulose in primary walls, of surface wax on growing leaves, of the appearance of the cuticle at the

Mechanism of Intraspecific Selectivity of Cabbage to Nitrofen

“…Since the external cuticle has a larger surface area than the stomata, and both cultivars had the same stomatal density (Figure 4), the site of selectivity was the structure and/or composition of the cuticle. This difference in cuticular tolerance has been demonstrated previously for other plant species (2,8,10,20,22).…”

Penetration of 2,4‐d in Relation to Cuticle Thickness

“…It has been shown that thicker cuticles within the same species, were less permeable t~2,4-D (Skoss, 1955;Schieferstein and Loomis, 1959). There was no correlation between thickness and perm~ability .amo~g the cuticles of the ten species Investigated In this study.…”

“…Bioassay data have shown an inverse correlation between cuticle thickness and activity of 2,4-D (Hull, 1964), and uptake of 2,4-D by leaf discs was greater when the cuticle was thinner (Sargent and Blackman, 1972). Increasing thickness of isolated cuticle, within a species, has been shown to reduce 2,4-D penetration (Skoss, 1955;Schieferstein and Loomis, 1959), but no attempt was made to compare permeability of cuticles from different species. Determinations of isolated cuticle permeability by Norris and Bukovac (1968) and Blumenfeld and Bukovac ( 1972) showed differences between cuticles from different species; no attempt was made to relate these differences to thickness.…”

“…Weight per unit area has been utilized as a measure of cuticle thickness (Skoss, 1955' Schieferstein andLoomis, 1959). If the assudtption can be made that the degree of cuticle-flange development is always similar for the same species, then such measurements of thickness in relation to environment or leaf age are probably valid.…”

Environmental Influence on the Tolerance of Corn to Atrazine

“…Differential penetration into plants grown in Chambers A and C probably is due to a thinner cuticle on plants grown in Chamber C (15). Increased penetration through the base of the leaf blade is believed to be due to a thin cuticle on this younger expanding portion of the leaf, also (12). It is believed that the major factor contributing to the enhanced penetration of atrazine in Chamber D was wet foliage (4, 10, 16) rather than the low tempera ture.…”