As promised, here is the second part of my  garden expedition at my sister’s place, in which I explored the leaf surfaces of  dicot and
 <a href="https://microcosmos.foldscope.com/?p=77595">
 monocot
 </a>
 plants.  I selected four dicot plants to observe stomata: tomato (
 
 Solanum lycopersicum
 
 ), coatbuttons (
 
 Tridax procumbens
 
 ), spinach (
 
 Spinacia oleracea
 
 ) and chilli peppers (
 
 Capsicum annuum
 
 ).

<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77740" class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_77740" style="width: 355px">
 <a alt="Dicot-plants.jpg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/Dicot-plants.jpg" style="font-weight: bold;background-color: #ffffff;font-size: 1.8rem">
 <img alt="Dicot plants" class="wp-image-77740 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="77740" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="Dicot plants" data-recalc-dims="1" height="452" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/Dicot-plants.jpg" width="355"/>
 </a>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77740">
 Dicot plants: tomato, coatbuttons, spinach and chilli peppers.
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 
 Here is a comparative figure for the upper and lower epidermis of the four dicot plants, which I observed through the foldscope.
 

<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77593" class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_77593" style="width: 532px">
 <a alt="Spinach-and-tomato.jpg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/Spinach-and-tomato.jpg">
 <img alt="Spinach and tomato" class="wp-image-77593 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="77593" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="Spinach and tomato" data-recalc-dims="1" height="399" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/Spinach-and-tomato.jpg" width="532"/>
 </a>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77593">
 Upper and lower epidermis of tomato and spinach leaves
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 
 

<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77594" class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_77594" style="width: 572px">
 <a alt="coatbuttons-and-chilli.jpg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/coatbuttons-and-chilli.jpg">
 <img alt="coatbuttons and chilli" class="wp-image-77594 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="77594" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}' data-image-title="coatbuttons and chilli" data-recalc-dims="1" height="429" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/coatbuttons-and-chilli.jpg" width="572"/>
 </a>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77594">
 Upper and lower epidermis of coatbuttons and chilli peppers
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 
 In dicots, it is known that stomata are distributed irregularly in the lower epidermis and the guard cells are bean shaped.  I too found that the guard cells were bean shaped, but I found the stomata of tomato and chilli leaves distributed all over the upper and lower epidermis. Further, I saw trichomes on both upper and lower epidermis of tomato and chilli leaves. It puzzled me, whether again these were exceptional cases or not!
 

<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77587" class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_77587" style="width: 231px">
 <a alt="IMG_3012.jpg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/IMG_3012.jpg">
 <img alt="IMG_3012" class="wp-image-77587 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="77587" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 5s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1540912767","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"640","shutter_speed":"0.058823529411765","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="IMG_3012" data-recalc-dims="1" height="173" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/IMG_3012.jpg" width="231"/>
 </a>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77587">
 Upper epidermis of chilli leaf
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 
 

<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77588" class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_77588" style="width: 255px">
 <a alt="IMG_3026.jpg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/IMG_3026.jpg">
 <img alt="IMG_3026" class="wp-image-77588 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="77588" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 5s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1540915762","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"500","shutter_speed":"0.058823529411765","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="IMG_3026" data-recalc-dims="1" height="191" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/IMG_3026.jpg" width="255"/>
 </a>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77588">
 Lower epidermis of chilli leaf
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77585" class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_77585" style="width: 254px">
 <a alt="IMG_2980.jpg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/IMG_2980.jpg" style="font-weight: bold;background-color: #ffffff;font-size: 1.8rem">
 <img alt="IMG_2980" class="wp-image-77585 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="77585" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 5s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1540900945","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"250","shutter_speed":"0.03030303030303","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="IMG_2980" data-recalc-dims="1" height="190" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/IMG_2980.jpg" width="254"/>
 </a>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77585">
 Upper epidermis of tomato leaf
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77586" class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_77586" style="width: 259px">
 <a alt="IMG_2985.jpg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/IMG_2985.jpg" style="font-weight: bold;background-color: #ffffff;font-size: 1.8rem">
 <img alt="IMG_2985" class="wp-image-77586 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="77586" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 5s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1540902569","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"500","shutter_speed":"0.058823529411765","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="IMG_2985" data-recalc-dims="1" height="194" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/IMG_2985.jpg" width="259"/>
 </a>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77586">
 Lower epidermis of tomato leaf
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 
 At this point, I stopped my observations and started checking my findings by searching on the internet. I learnt that dicot plants do have stomata on the
 <a href="http://pediaa.com/difference-between-stomata-of-monocot-and-dicot-plants/">
 upper epidermis and, in order to control transpiration, trichomes are produced (on both upper and lower epidermis) to cover up the stomatal openings.
 </a>
 This is very clear in tomato and chilli which both belong to the same family.
 


 
 In Tridax too trichomes are produced.  Looking at the lower epidermis image for Tridax,
 
 
 you see a few cases of one small cell in the middle and what looks like two big cells surrounding it.  Initially, I considered these to be  stomata. However, after some literature search, I concluded that these cells actually form the base of a trichome.
 

<figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-77578" class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_77578" style="width: 315px">
 <a alt="IMG_2844-1.jpg" class="gcloudimg" href="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/IMG_2844-1.jpg">
 <img alt="IMG_2844" class="wp-image-77578 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="77578" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 5s","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1540543535","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.03030303030303","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="IMG_2844" data-recalc-dims="1" height="236" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_77737/IMG_2844-1.jpg" width="315"/>
 </a>
 <figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-77578">
 Lower epidermis of Tridax
 </figcaption>
</figure>

 I enjoyed this vacation research with my foldscope.   I welcome your suggestions and comments!


 In the
 <a href="https://microcosmos.foldscope.com/?p=77796">
 3rd and final post
 </a>
 for this short project, I will provide a comparative view of the monocots and dicots together.


 Ashalatha


 (with Debashree and Jayashree)

Leaf surfaces of dicots

TCIS Outreach | Tue, Nov 06, 2018, 4:37 AM

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