Microscopic Trichome of Oxalis triangularis

Photographer

Category

Editorial Photography - Scientific

Company

Rebekah Helton

Submission Group

Amateur

Year

2024

Country / Region:

United States

The image was taken using an Oxalis triangularis (Purple Shamrock) plant. Removing one of the shamrock leaves and examining under my home epifluorescence microscope allowed me to view the different structures via light microscopy as well as via autofluorescence. Using an Hg (Mercury) bulb attachment and a filter cube with a UV excitation/emission, I was able to view the leaf's trichomes along its edges without processing using any staining or manipulations. The trichomes appeared to glow brightly off the edges. Taking a series of images and compiling them into a stacked image to obtain a completely in-focus trichome shows the detail and simplicity of the plant.