Dispersion of Cellulose Strands in Cell Walls

Abstract

IN the cell wall of plant fibres the submicroscopic cellulose strands are orientated in parallel. With some bast fibres they are orientated parallel to the cell axis (fibre texture), and with wood fibres or cotton hairs they follow the thread of a screw (spiral texture). In other cell walls the optical anisotropy suggests a dispersion of the cellulose strands as, for example, in sieve tubes and latex vessels (tube texture) or a complete random orientation as in certain parenchyma cells (folium texture)¹. Such membranes must be built of a submicroscopic ‘reticular texture’ in opposition to the ‘parallel texture’ of the first-mentioned type.