The Ultrastructure of the Glandular Trichomes of Solanum tuberosum

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Abstract
The potato plant has two types of glandular trichomes which were investigated by electron microscopy. One type has a eight celled globular head on a neck cell and a stalk cell Each glandular cell has many rather large vacuoles, a large nucleus, many ribosomes and mitochondria, a few Golgi bodies, and darkly coloured, often irregular plastids (chloroplasts). The plastids are mostly located near the axial cell wall bordering a large central intercellular space filled with secretion material The plastids are assumed to participate in the formation of the secretion material, which reacts positively to esterase tests. The outer wall is covered by a thin cuticle. The other type has a club-shaped multicellular head on a single stalk cell. The cytoplasmic features in the cells are similar to those of the globular-headed trichome, except that they possess large central vacuoles and randomly distributed plastids. Centric endoplasmic reticulum has been observed in young cells. Intercellular spaces develop between the cells and into the outer wall, which is thus split into two. Whereas the older glandular cells react positively to tests for esterase, the secretion material itself is pectinaceous and reacts negatively. The outer wall is cutinized and covered by a cuticle.