Hello Bappa,

what plant species do these roots belong to?

Were these thin sections chemically treated ( e.g. bleached, fixed, dyed etc.) in any way?

If you have a polarization microscope available, you could gain a hint as to whether they are crystals.

With kind regards

Klaus Berkefeld

Hello Klaus,

These are maize root tips, bleached and dyed.

Hello Bappa,

In terms of their shape, it could be calcium oxalate crystals. However, one cannot rule out artifacts caused by the bleaching agent (chloral hydrate?).

Take a look at untreated thin root sections to see if the crystals appear there as well. As I said, a polarized light microscope is very helpful for quickly locating and identifying crystals in such preparations.

With kind regards

Klaus Berkefeld

Thank you so much, Klaus.