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Monocot Stems
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| The individual vascular bundles can be seen in this fossil palm (genus Palmoxylon) specimen from Wyoming. Each vascular bundle is surrounded by numerous fibers, which thicken into a cap shape on one end. The fibers provide structural support. The empty spaces represent vessels for water conduction and sometimes air spaces. The phloem tissue would be found between the vessels and the bundle cap. This image was taken at 40x. |
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The fossil Palmoxylon pictured above comes from the same location in Wyoming as the previous specimen. Note this palm has much larger bundle caps in comparison to the vascular tissues. |
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The colorful vascular bundles in this trunk of fossil Palmoxylon from Louisiana exhibit great cellular detail. The trunk is pictured below. |
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A longitudinal cut Palmoxylon specimen from Louisiana reveals the rod-like structures of the vascular bundles. |
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This Palmoxylon specimen from Texas represents a transverse cut (cross-section). When viewed in cross-section the vascular bundles give the palm fiber a spotted appearance. The close-up below reveals that even the parenchyma ground tissue between the vascular bundles is well preserved in this specimen. The bundle caps dwarf the vascular tissue in size. |
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