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Updated: Mar 17, 2026

Xylem Water Distribution in Woody Plants Visualized with a Cryo-scanning Electron Microscope
Published on: June 20, 2019
I Can See Clearly Now - Embolism in Leaves
Christine Scoffoni1, Steven Jansen2
1University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Box 951606, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Abstract:
Deciphering how air enters the plant hydraulic transport tissues represents a major challenge to understanding plant drought responses. Using a non-invasive and cheap visualization technique applied to leaves, the spread of embolism is found to initiate in the midrib, increase with vein order, and is seemingly influenced by vein topology.
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