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Frozen Hydrated Root Hairs

One of the most delicate structures borne on higher plants is the root hair. This is simply a projection of the outer tangential wall of the epidermis of the root, and has a mechanical as well as physiological function.
Because root hairs are over 90% water, conventional preparation methods, such as air or critical-point drying, always result in considerable collapse, distortion and shrinkage of these structures. Low temperature SEM, on the other hand, provides good preservation of structure without any collapse. Root hairs illustrated here still have a thin layer of water (ice) on their surface verifying there true frozen hydrated nature. If the ice proves to obscure important detail, it can be removed by careful sublimation.

Bar = 50um, inset 25um