Abstract
A cryomicroscope with cinemicrography was used to observe a process of a rapid intracellular freezing, “flashing”, in onion bulb epidermal cells. “Flashing” occurred not only in normal cells but also in cells contracted by extracellular freezing. In most cases, freezing was initiated by nucleation near the wall, but we observed another case in which nucleation occurred in the middle of the cell. Though “flashing” was very rapid, the ice grew into branch-like style in each cell. It was suggested that a shape of ice front of “flashig” appeared to vary withsuch conditions as freezing temperature, cooling rate and extet of extracellular freezing.
