Sieve tube elements in the stem of Neptunia oleracea Lour

Abstract

Some structural aspects of the phloem of Neptunia oleracea, an aquatic plant, are reported. The sieve tube elements on an average are 190μ long and 13μ wide and have compound sieve plates at varying degrees of inclination. The developing sieve tube element has a single large spindle-shaped slime body, which presumably has an outer membrane. The slime body undergoes dispersal before or after full development of the sieve plate, but often nuclear degeneration occurs first. Distinct slime plugs are absent. Plastids and other granular bodies are attached to many of the strands, which are less than 0.5μ in diameter. During the process of nuclear disintegration the nuclear membrane is indistinct, and extruded nucleolus is not observed. Sieve areas and connections are comparatively few in number, and the sieve areas and wall connections as well as the sieve plates show scanty callose deposition. Plastids are abundant in the sieve tube elements, especially near the sieve plates. The companion cells of two consecutive sieve tube elements are placed on alternate sides and hence their longitudinal continuity is not always maintained. Companion cells do not exceed the length of the sieve tube element.