This year we will be studying stem anatomy of Lonicera maackii, a highly successful woody invasive plant species to our local area.  In preparation for doing this you should locate one or more specimens of Lonicera maackii which is in the unpruned condition.  Your specimen(s) should have at least 18 one year old twigs that are less than 30 cm long.  Every week you should sample two of these one year old twigs, label them with your name and the date collected, and store them in the refrigerator.

For the first week, in addition to locating your specimen, macerate portions of the twig and buds to determine what cells are present in this species.

For subsequent eight  weeks perform the following:

    A.  Prepare transverse sections of each annual twig growth increment at regions corresponding to 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 the total length of the growth increment.

    B.  Develop suitable staining procedures that will allow you to localize:   1.  Suberin and Cutin,  2.  Lignin, and  3.  Callose.  in your sections.

    C.  Mount all nine sections that have been stained for a particular compound from one twig on a single slide for convenient comparison.  Be sure to use a 50% aqueous glycerine mounting medium and seal the edges with nailpolish for medium range storage in the refrigerator.   Be sure to mark the slides with your name and the date on which the twig was collected.  Keep a record of how the sections that are stained differently are arranged on the slide.

    D.  Retain your twigs in the refrigerator in case you need to make additional sections.  You may wish to develop collaborative efforts with your colleagues for this study.  The table below indicates what you should have by the end of the course.