CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE OF PLANT EPICUTICULAR WAXES DEMONSTRATED BY CRYOSTAGE SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

Abstract

The epicuticular wax structure of several species was investigated, using plant material frozen rapidly in liquid nitrogen, and observed by means of a cryogenic specimen stage fitted to a scanning electron microscope. The wax was found to have a crystalline fine structure identical with that observed using conventional techniques for the preparation of plant surface specimens for transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The findings are discussed in relation to recent reports that the waxes are amorphous at low temperatures, and that the generally‐accepted crystalline fine structure of plant epicuticular waxes is an artefact of conventional specimen preparation procedures. Copyright © 1982, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved