Abstract
The hard endosperm of species of the palm genus Phytelephas (elephant plant), known as vegetable ivory, was used in the manufacture of buttons in the nineteenth century, the early twentieth century, and again in more recent times. Here, we show that the pathways for intercellular communication, including the cytoplasm in opposite pits and the plasmodesmata that traverse the cell wall, can be visualized in century-old inexpensive buttons that are readily available in antique shops.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acosta-Solis M (1948) Tagua or vegetable ivory: a forest product of Ecuador. Econ Bot 2:46–57
Armstrong WP (1991) Vegetable ivory: saving elephants & South American rain forests. Zoonooz 64(9):17–19, Updated on July 12, 2010 available at http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pljan99.htm
Bailey LH (1943) Flora of Panama. Palmaceae. Ann Mo Bot Gard 30:327–396
Barfod AS (1989) The rise and fall of vegetable ivory. Principles 33:181–190
Barfod AS (1991) A monographic study of the subfamily Phytelephantoideae (Arecaceae). Opera Botanica 105:5–73
Barfod AS, Bergmann B, Pedersen HB (1990) The vegetable ivory industry: surviving and doing well in Ecuador. Econ Bot 44:293–300
Bell K, Oparka K (2011) Imaging plasmodesmata. Protoplasma 248:9–25
Bernal R (1998) Demography of the vegetable ivory palm Phytelephas seemannii in Columbia, and the impact of seed harvesting. J Appl Ecol 35:64–74
Fitzgibbon J, Vatén A (2011) Plasmodesmata 2010: plasmodesmata down under conference report on plasmodesmata 2010, Sydney, Australia. Protoplasma 248:3–7
Gunning BES, Robards AW (eds) (1976) Intercellular communication in plants: studies on plasmodesmata. Springer, Berlin
Köhler P, Carr DJ (2006) A somewhat obscure discoverer of plasmodesmata: Eduard Tangl (1848 – 1905). In: Kokowski M (ed), The Global and the Local: The History of Science and the Cultural Integration of Europe. Proceedings of the 2nd ICESHS Cracow, Poland, September 6–9, 2006, pp. 208–211
Seemann B (1852–1857) The botany of the voyage of H.M.S. Herald. Lovell Reeve, London
Seemann B (1853) Narrative of the voyage of H.M.S. Herald, vol I. Reeve and Co, London
Sharp L (1934) Introduction to cytology, 3rd edn. McGraw-Hill, New York
Staves MP, Wayne R, Leopold AC (1995) Detection of gravity-induced polarity of cytoplasmic streaming in Chara. Protoplasma 188:38–48
Strasburger E (1901) Ueber Plasmaverbindungen pflanzlicher Zellen. Jahrb f wiss Bot 36:493–610
Strasburger E (1911) Handbook of Practical Botany for the Botanical Laboratory and Private Student. Seventh Edition, Revised. Translated from the German by W. Hillhouse. George Allen & Co, Ltd, London
Tangl E (1879) Ueber oftene Communicationen zwichen den Zellen des Endosperms einiger Samen. Jahrb f wiss Bot 12:170–190
Timell TE (1957) Vegetable ivory as a source of mannan polysaccharide. Can J Chem 35:333–338
Velásquez Runk J (1998) Productivity and sustainability of a vegetable ivory palm (Phytelephas aequatorialis, Arecaceae) under three management regimes in Northwestern Ecuador. Econ Bot 52:168–182
Wayne R (2009) Plant cell biology: from astronomy to zoology. Elsevier Academic Press, Amsterdam, Companion website available at http://www.elsevierdirect.com/companion.jsp?ISBN=9780123742339
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Handling Editor: Peter Nick
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Witztum, A., Wayne, R. Button botany: plasmodesmata in vegetable ivory. Protoplasma 249, 721–724 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-011-0315-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-011-0315-0