Embedding softened herbarium material in Spurr's resin for histological studies

Plant organs, including stems, rhizomes, leaves, roots, petals, sporangia and flower pedicels obtained from dried herbarium specimens of a variety of plant species have been softened with Aerosol OT and subsequently dehydrated in a graded series of acetones and embedded in Spurr's resin. Although the quality of preservation varied, sections of a variety of materials showed excellent cellular preservation. Sections stained through the resin with toluidine blue O and examined with either bright field microscopy or with crossed polarizers showed good cell detail. Histochemical tests for callose, polysaccharides, and cellulosic walls, using sections from which the resin had been removed by sodium methoxide and then viewed with an epifluorescence microscope, gave excellent results.