A scanning electron micrograph of the under side of an Autumn Olive leaf, magnified x150
A scanning electron micrograph of the under side of an Autumn Olive leaf, magnified x150. Autumn olive is a medium to large shrub, often reaching heights of 20 feet. The leaves, borne alternately on the stems, are generally oval in shape, approximately 1-3 inches long, and lack teeth. The upper surface of leaves is dark green to grayish-green in colour, while the lower surface is covered with silvery white scales, a conspicuous characteristic that can be seen from a distance. The small light yellow flowers, borne along twigs, bloom in late April and May. The small (less than one-quarter inch) fleshy fruits range in colour from pink to red, are finely dotted with pale scales, and are produced in abundance each year. Autumn Olive, Elaeagnus umbellate, is of the Family Elaeagnaceae. This is a temperate and tropical family of shrubs and small trees, the exterior of whose leaves and young branches are covered with stellate and peltate trichomes, which are often have sufficient density to give a silvery or brown appearance. The leaf is dorsiventral. Both surfaces have very prominent trichomes. Trichomes are of considerable importance in comparative systematic investigations of angiosperms. Trichomes are epidermal outgrowths of diverse form, structure, and function. The overall surface appearance, indumentum, of the Autumn Olive is stellate. The structure is star-shaped, multiangulate, rotate (in one plane), and stalked. Stomata are confined to the lower surface.
Size: 3200px × 2984px
Photo credit: © Mediscan / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: (critical, -, abaxial, autumn, biology, botany, dorsiventral, dried, elaeagnaceae, elaeagnus, electron, em, flower, japanese, leaf, micrograph, microscopic, microscopy, multiangulate, oleaster, olive, peltate, plant, point, rotate, scales, scanning, science, scienti, scientific, sem, shrub, silverberry, stalked, stellate, stomata, surface, trichomes, umbellata, x150
