RESPONSE TO WOUNDING OF FLORAL HAIRS OF STAPELIA

Benda , G. T. A. (U. Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.) Response to wounding of floral hairs of Stapelia. Amer. Jour. Bot. 48(9): 833–842. Illus. 1961—Wounded single-celled hairs of the corolla of Stapelia grandiflora were used to investigate: (1) the closure of the wound; and (2) the dynamics of water balance in these cells and their adjoining tissue. The cells were wounded by removing the tip of the cell, and the technique described made it possible to follow small volume changes over 2-sec intervals for extended periods. The data obtained indicate that the volume of cell content results from a dynamic balance of uptake and loss of water. In cells kept relatively dry, the part of the protoplast nearest the wound was free to move back and forth within the cell wall. A wound does not necessarily result in a plug of coagulated protoplast visible at the microscopic level, but a plug is produced if the wounded cell takes up water rapidly.