Abstract
Two anatomical features of cells derived from the pericycle of the roots of Feijoa sellowiana are reported: (1) appearance of endodermis-like cell layer with a Casparian strip, which was confirmed by histological examination; (2) occurrence of a thick wall cell between endodermis-like cells. These features were considered to develop as follows: two tangential cell walls appeared successively in the pericycle cells, resulting in the formation of three cell layers. The walls of the cells of the outer layer, adjacent to the endodermis, became thicker on the interior side of the cell and heavily encrusted with lignin. The walls of the cells in the middle layer derived from the pericycle became suberized and developed into Casparian strips. These cells subsequently developed into endodermis-like cells. The innermost cell layer derived from the pericycle retained their original morphology for a while, but again divided tangentially and developed as mentioned above. Consequently, in aged roots, there were several layers, in which endodermis-like cells with Casparian strips alternated with cells with thick inner walls. The tangential width of endodermis-like cells reduced in sequence from the outer to inner layer. It is quite important to know how the anatomical features of feijoa trees appear under different soil conditions.
