Luffa Pollen Under the Microscope
Luffa Pollen (Whole Mount), Luffa aegyptiaca
This slide shows pollen grains from Luffa, the plant that makes loofah sponges, stained with safranin and fast green. Luffa pollen is round with three openings, a typical dicot pattern.
A whole mount preparation of Luffa pollen grains (Luffa Pollen W.M.) double-stained with Safranin and Fast Green. The spherical to subglobose pollen grains represent a characteristic dicotyledonous tricolporate morphological type from the Cucurbitaceae family. Dual counterstaining clearly contrasts the outer, highly resistant exine layer containing sporopollenin against the inner intine wall layer and cytoplasmic contents.
What to look for
- Pollen grains: Round to nearly round grains scattered across the slide.
- Apertures: Three openings in the wall where a pollen tube can grow out.
- Exine: The thick, tough outer wall.
- Intine and contents: The thinner inner wall and the cell contents inside the grain.
At each magnification
Low power (about 4x)
Scattered round grains.
Medium power (about 10x)
The round outline and thick wall of each grain.
High power (about 40x)
The openings in the wall and the surface pattern of the exine.
Questions and answers
What does Luffa pollen look like under a microscope?
Luffa pollen grains are round with a thick outer wall and three openings. Double staining makes the tough outer wall stand out from the inner layer and cell contents.
How is dicot pollen different from monocot pollen?
Most monocot pollen, like lily pollen, has a single furrow. Most dicot pollen, like Luffa pollen, has three openings or three furrows.
- Category
- Botany & Plants
- Scan magnification
- 20x
- Stain
- Safranin / Fast Green
- Tags
- Luffa pollen whole mount, Luffa, Luffa pollen, pollen grains, Cucurbitaceae, microspore
Viewing this slide in class
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