Orange Peel Cross Section Under the Microscope
Orange Peel (Cross Section), Citrus sinensis
This is a cross section of orange peel stained with safranin and fast green. It shows the colorful outer layer with oil glands and the white, spongy layer underneath.
This is a cross section of an orange peel (Citrus sinensis), stained with safranin and fast green. The outer surface is a thin skin of small, tightly packed cells called the flavedo. Just inside it sit large, round oil glands, hollow pockets that hold the oils that give oranges their smell. Most of the peel is the albedo, the white part, made of loose, branching cells with big air spaces between them. Small veins, called vascular bundles, run through the albedo, and their water-carrying xylem stains red.
What to look for
- Flavedo: The outer layer of the peel, made of small, compact cells.
- Oil glands: Large round cavities in the outer layer where citrus oils are stored.
- Albedo: The spongy inner layer of loosely connected cells with large air spaces.
- Vascular bundles: Small veins in the albedo, with xylem stained red.
Questions and answers
What does orange peel look like under a microscope?
Orange peel has a thin outer layer (the flavedo) with large, round oil glands, and a thicker white layer (the albedo) made of loose, spongy cells with lots of air spaces.
Where does the smell of an orange peel come from?
The smell comes from oils stored in the round oil glands in the outer peel. When you bend or scratch the peel, the glands break and release the oil.
- Category
- Botany & Plants
- Scan magnification
- 20x
- Stain
- Safranin / Fast Green
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