Garden bamboo stem, fluorescence light micrograph

Monocot stem vascular arrangement. Light micrograph of a section of a young stem of garden bamboo (Fargesia sp.). Vascular tissues transport water and dissolved substances inside the plant and help support the stem. The two types of vascular tissue are xylem and phloem. Xylem carries water and dissolved ions from the roots to stems and leaves. Phloem carries dissolved sugars from the leaves to all other parts of the plant. Xylem has two kinds of conducting cells, tracheids and vessel elements. The monocot stem has a random arrangement of vascular bundles with more of the bundles located toward the stem periphery than in the centre. The tissue was stained with Acridine-red, Acriflavine and Aniline-blue. Microscopic contrast method: Incident fluorescence with blue excitation. Magnification: x10 when printed at 10 centimetres wide., by GERD GUENTHER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY