MadSci Network: Botany
Query:

Re: What layers of a leaf come off during skeletonization?

Date: Mon May 26 15:51:36 2003
Posted By: David Hershey, Faculty, Botany, NA
Area of science: Botany
ID: 1053797662.Bt
Message:

Mainly just the leaf veins are left after skeletonization because the xylem 
vessels and tracheids in the veins have thick secondary walls containing a 
decay-resistant chemical called lignin. The vessel and tracheid cell walls are 
more resistant to chemicals and decay than the primary cell walls in the rest 
of the leaf. The cells that are lost during skeletonization are mainly thin-
walled parenchyma cells in the mesophyll, also termed chlorenchyma, plus the 
epidermal cells. Many insects skeletonize leaves because they just eat the 
nutritious thin-walled cells and not the veins. 

Skeletonizing leaves is often done to make artwork and jewelry. Skeletonization 
methods may use chemicals or microbes. With some leaves you can soak the leaf 
until the cells soften and then gently scrape away the mesophyll cells with a 
brush.

References


Cell Walls


Leaf skeltonization


Re: How can my students skeletonize leaves to study venation?


Skeleton Leaves for Art and Craft Projects


Making Leaf Skeletons


Skeletonizing Leaves

"Separation and Mounting of Leaf Vein Skeletons and Epidermis" by R.T. 
Whittenberger and J. Naghski in the American Journal of Botany, Dec 1948, pgs. 
719-722, vol. 55.


Photo of Skeletonized Citrus Leaves


Tomato Leaf Venation Patterns


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