In Botany the Plant cuticle is covered by epicuticular wax mainly consisting of straight-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons with a variety of substituted groups. Common examples are paraffins in leaves of peas and cabbages, alkyl esters in leaves of Carnauba palm and banana, the asymmetrical secondary alcohol 10-nonacosanol in most conifers such as Ginkgo biloba and Sitka spruce, many of the Ranunculaceae, Papaveraceae and Rosaceae and some mosses, symmetrical secondary alcohols in Brassicaceae including Arabidopsis thaliana, primary alcohols (mostly octacosan-1-ol) in most grasses Poaceae, Eucalyptus and legumes among many other plant groups, β-diketones in many grasses, Eucalyptus, box Buxus and the Ericaceae, aldehydes in young beech leaves, sugarcane culms and [lemon] fruit and triterpenes in fruit waxes of apple, plum and grape (Baker 1982; Holloway and Jeffree 2005). Pinguicula grandiflora Botany is the scientific study of plantlife. ... Plant cuticles are a protective waxy covering produced only by the epidermal cells (Kolattukudy, 1996) of leaves, young shoots and all other aerial plant organs. ... In chemistry, non-aromatic and non-cyclic (acyclic) organic compounds are called aliphatic. ... Oil refineries are key to obtaining hydrocarbons; crude oil is processed through several stages to form desirable hydrocarbons, used in fuel and other commercial products. ... Paraffin is a common name for a group of alkane hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2, where n is greater than about 20, discovered by Carl Reichenbach. ... Binomial name Pisum sativum L. A pea is the small, edible round green bean which grows in a pod on the leguminous vine Pisum sativum, or in some cases to the immature pods. ... Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. ... A carboxylic acid ester. ... Carnauba is a wax derived from the leaves of a plant native to northeastern Brazil, the Carnauba Palm (Copernica cerifera). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Binomial name Ginkgo biloba L. The Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), sometimes also known as the Maidenhair tree, is a unique tree with no living relatives. ... Binomial name Picea sitchensis (Bong. ... genera see text Ranunculaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. ... It has been suggested that Poppy be merged into this article or section. ... Subfamilies Rosoideae Spiraeoideae Maloideae Amygdaloideae or Prunoideae The Rosaceae or rose family is a large family of plants, with about 3,000-4,000 species in 100-120 genera. ... This is an article about the plant. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... Genera See text. ... Binomial name Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... Subfamilies There are 7 subfamilies: Subfamily Arundinoideae Subfamily Bambusoideae Subfamily Centothecoideae Subfamily Chloridoideae Subfamily Panicoideae Subfamily Pooideae Subfamily Stipoideae The true grasses are monocotyledonous plants (Class Liliopsida) in the Family Poaceae, also known as Gramineae. ... natural range Species About 700; see the List of Eucalyptus species Eucalyptus (From Greek, eu + καλύπτω = True Cap) is a diverse genus of trees (and a few shrubs), the members of which dominate the tree flora of Australia. ... Varieties of soybean seeds, a popular legume Pea pods A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or a fruit of these plants. ... A diketone is a molecule containing two carbonyl groups. ... natural range Species About 700; see the List of Eucalyptus species Eucalyptus (From Greek, eu + καλύπτω = True Cap) is a diverse genus of trees (and a few shrubs), the members of which dominate the tree flora of Australia. ... Species About 70 species; see text Buxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. ... Genera See text The plant Family Ericaceae (Heath Family) or ericaceous plants are mostly lime-hating or calcifuge plants that thrive in acid soils. ... An aldehyde. ... Species Fagus crenata - Japanese Beech Fagus engleriana - Chinese Beech Fagus grandifolia - American Beech Fagus hayatae - Taiwan Beech Fagus japonica - Japanese Blue Beech Fagus longipetiolata - South Chinese Beech Fagus lucida - Shining Beech Fagus mexicana - Mexican Beech or Haya Fagus orientalis - Oriental Beech Fagus sylvatica - European Beech Beech (Fagus) is a genus... Species Saccharum arundinaceum Saccharum bengalense Saccharum edule Saccharum officinarum Saccharum procerum Saccharum ravennae Saccharum robustum Saccharum sinense Saccharum spontaneum Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall grasses (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae), native to warm temperate to tropical regions... Terpenes are a class of hydrocarbons, produced by many plants, particularly conifers. ... Binomial name Borkh. ... It has been suggested that Prune (fruit) be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Veraison be merged into this article or section. ...

Epicuticular wax crystals surrounding a stomatal aperture on the lower surface of a rose leaf

These compounds are mostly soluble in organic solvents such as chloroform and hexane, making them accessible for chemical analysis, but in some species esterification of acids and alcohols into estolides or polymerization of aldehydes may give rise to insoluble compounds. Solvent extracts of cuticle waxes contain both epicuticular and cuticular waxes, often contaminated with cell membrane lipids of underlying cells. Epicuticular wax can now also be isolated by mechanical methods (Ensikat, Neinhuis and Barthlott, 2000) which distinguish the epicuticular wax outside the Plant Cuticle from the cuticular wax embedded in the cuticle polymer. These two are consequently now known to be chemically distinct (Jetter, Schäffer, and Riederer 2000), although the mechanism which segregates the molecular species into the two layers is unknown. For the song Chloroform by Spoon, see A Series of Sneaks Chloroform, also known as trichloromethane and methyl trichloride, is a chemical compound with formula CHCl3. ... the 3rd ingredient in big mac ... The cell membrane (also called the plasma membrane or plasmalemma) is a semipermeable lipid bilayer common to all living cells. ... Plant cuticles are a protective waxy covering produced only by the epidermal cells (Kolattukudy, 1996) of leaves, young shoots and all other aerial plant organs. ...

Epicuticular wax crystals

Epicuticular wax forms crystalline projections from the plant surface, which enhance their water repllency (Holloway, 1969; Barthlott and Neinhuis 1997) and reflect UV radiation. The shapes of the crystals are dependent on the wax compounds present in them. Asymmetrical secondary alcohols and β-diketones form hollow wax nanotubes, while primary alcohols and symmetrical secondary alcohols form flat plates (Hallam, 1967; Jeffree, Baker and Holloway 1975). Although these have been observed using the Transmission Electron Microscope (Juniper and Bradley 1958; Hallam 1967) and Scanning Electron Microscope (Jeffree 2006 and references therein) the process of growth of the crystals had never been observed directly until Koch and coworkers (2004, 2005) studied growing wax crystals on leaves of snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) and other species using the Atomic force microscope. These studies show that the crystals grow by extension from their tips, raising interesting questions about the mechanism of transport of the molecules. Note: Ultraviolet is also the name of a 1998 UK television miniseries about vampires. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... An electronic device known as a diode can be formed by joining two nanoscale carbon tubes with different electronic properties. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-khwl الكحول, or al-ghawl الغول) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an imaging technique whereby a beam of electrons is focused onto a specimen causing an enlarged version to appear on a fluorescent screen or layer of photographic film (see electron microscope), or can be detected by a CCD camera. ... SEM Cambridge S150 at Geological Institute, University Kiel, 1980 SEM opened sample chamber The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope capable of producing high resolution images of a sample surface. ... Species Galanthus x allenii G. nivalis The Common Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) is the best-known representative of a small genus of about 20 species in the family Amaryllidaceae that are among the first bulbs to bloom in spring. ... Species Galanthus allenii The Common Snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, is the best-known representative of a small genus of about 20 species in the Lily family Liliaceae that are the first bulbs to bloom in spring. ... Topographic scan of a glass surface The atomic force microscope (AFM) is a very high-resolution type of scanning probe microscope, with demonstrated resolution of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the optical diffraction limit. ...

References

• Baker, E. A. (1982) Chemistry and morphology of plant epicuticular waxes, in The Plant Cuticle, (eds D. J. Cutler, K. L. Alvin, and C. E. Price), Academic Press, London, pp. 139-165.
• Hallam, N.D. (1967) An electron microscope study of the leaf waxes of the genus Eucalyptus L'Heritier, PhD thesis, University of Melbourne.
• Holloway, P. J. and Jeffree, C. E. (2005) Epicuticular waxes, Encyclopedia of Applied Plant Sciences, 3, pp. 1190-1204.
• Riederer, M. & Müller, C., eds (2006) Biology of the Plant Cuticle. Blackwell Publishing. [1]
• Barthlott, W. and Neinhuis, C. (1997) Purity of the sacred lotus, or escape from contamination in biological surfaces. Planta 202, 1–8.
• Eigenbrode, S.D. (1996) Plant surface waxes and insect behaviour, in Plant Cuticles: an integrated functional approach, (ed G. Kerstiens), Bios Scientific Publishers, Oxford, pp. 201-221.
• Ensikat, H. J., Neinhuis, C., and Barthlott, W. (2000) Direct access to plant epicuticular wax crystals by a new mechanical isolation method, International Journal of Plant Sciences, 161, 143-148.
• Holloway, P. J. (1969) The effects of superficial wax on leaf wettability, Annals of Applied Biology, 63, 145-153.
• Jeffree, C.E. (2006)The fine structure of the Plant Cuticle. Chapter 2 In: Riederer, M. & Müller, C., eds (2006) Biology of the Plant Cuticle. Blackwell Publishing. pps 11-125.
• Jeffree, C. E., Baker, E. A., and Holloway, P. J. (1975) Ultrastructure and recrystallisation of plant epicuticular waxes, New Phytologist, 75, 539-549.
• Jetter, R., Schäffer, S., and Riederer, M. (2000) Leaf cuticular waxes are arranged in chemically and mechanically distinct layers: evidence from Prunus laurocerasus L., Plant, Cell and Environment, 23, 619-628.
• Juniper, B. E. and Bradley, D. E. (1958) The carbon replica technique in the study of the ultrastructure of leaf surfaces, Journal of Ultrastructure Research, 2, 16-27.
• Koch, K., Neinhuis, C., Ensikat, H. J., and Barthlott, W. (2004) Self assembly of epicuticular waxes on living plant surfaces imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM), Journal of Experimental Botany, 55, 711-718.
• Koch, K., Barthlott, W., Koch, S., Hommes, A., Wandelt, K., Mamdouh, H., De-Feyter, S. and Broekmann P. Structural analysis of wheat wax (Triticum aestivum, c.v. 'Naturastar' L.): from the molecular level to three dimensional crystals, Planta, 223, 258-270