Sago Cycas Leaf Cross Section Under the Microscope
Sago Cycas Leaf (Cross Section), Cycas revoluta
This is a cross section of a leaflet from the sago palm (Cycas), stained with safranin and fast green. Cycads are ancient seed plants, and their stiff leaflets show many features that help them save water.
This is a cross section of a leaflet from the sago palm (Cycas revoluta), stained with safranin and fast green. The edges of the leaflet curl down and under. A thick waxy cuticle covers the top, and a layer of tough, thick-walled cells lies just beneath it. Below that, tall palisade cells make most of the food through photosynthesis, while looser spongy cells sit near the underside. A single vein, or vascular bundle, runs down the middle. These features help the plant save water in dry, sunny places.
What to look for
- Thick cuticle: A heavy waxy layer on the upper surface.
- Hypodermis: Thick-walled, red-stained cells under the upper epidermis that make the leaflet stiff.
- Palisade mesophyll: A row of tall cells under the hypodermis.
- Spongy mesophyll: Looser cells with air spaces lower in the leaflet.
- Midrib vascular bundle: A single central vein, with red xylem.
- Sunken stomata: Stomata set into the lower surface.
Questions and answers
What is a sago palm leaf like under a microscope?
A Cycas leaflet has a thick cuticle, a stiff layer of thick-walled hypodermis cells, palisade and spongy mesophyll, a single central vein, and sunken stomata on the underside. Its edges curl down.
Is a sago palm a real palm?
No. The sago palm is a cycad, an ancient group of seed plants related more closely to conifers than to true palms. It makes seeds in cones instead of flowers.
Compare it
- Category
- Botany & Plants
- Scan magnification
- 20x
- Stain
- Safranin / Fast Green
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