Plant Histology Unit
The newly renovated Plant Histology Unit is a state of the art laboratory.
Originally, the lab was part of the Plant Biology Department and it was housed in the Plant Sciences Building. With the renovation of the LH Bailey Hortorium, Plant Histology Unit was moved to its new home at the hortorium on the fourth floor of the Mann Library Building.
The lab is equipped with several microscopes (transmitted light, polarization, epifluorescence, Hoffman interference contrast, Zernicke phase contrast and image capture), cryostats, microtomes (for wax and plastic embeddings), etc., among other equipment. There are several stereomicroscopes in the lab, one (a Wild S) has its own digital camera connected directly to an IBM computer for photographic work. The Zeiss Axioplan compound microscope is equipped with a digital camera that was recently upgraded. The lab also has a fume hood, acid resistant benches and sinks, and storage facilities.
The lab is a “service unit” and it serves any person that needs to undertake plant anatomical work; it is open to faculty, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students. Members of several departments of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), including Plant Biology, Horticulture, Plant Breeding and Genetics; departments from the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S): Anthropology and Cornell Tree-Ring Laboratory; the department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design (College of Human Ecology); and the Boyce Thompson Institute are already taking advantage of the facility. To be able to use the facility you will need to complete the Enrollment Form and email it to mag4@cornell.edu and make an appointment with Dr. Gandolfo.
The Plant Histology lab is the repository of the Cornell University Plant Anatomy Collection (CU-PAC), that it is composed of more than 10,000 slides of anatomical and embryological sections covering the entire spectrum of the plant kingdom (from algae to flowering plants). The collection includes slides made by Eames, Bierhorst, N. Uhl and Maheshwari. The CU-PAC collection is now being digitalized under the Plant Ontology Consortium grant awarded by the National Science Foundation.
For further information contact: Dr. Maria A. Gandolfo at mag4@cornell.edu