Question

Which chemicals are used for staining and mounting in order to prepare a temporary mount of a leaf peel for observing stomata.

Answer 1

The correct answer is - Saffranin and glycerin.

After the leaf is plucked from a plant, the small portion of the lower part of the leaf is peeled off using a forceps and is placed in a watch glass that contains water. A few drops of the Safranin stain is added to the watch glass. The leaf is allowed to rest in this Safranin -water solution for 2-3 mins after which it is placed on a cleaned glass slide.

A few drops of glycerin is then added on this leaf portion and a clean coverslip is placed carefully on top of it. The excess safranin stain and glycerin can be removed by using blotting paper. This slide is then observed for stomata under a low and high-magnifying microscope.

The stomata can be observed as bean-shaped cells that contain the chloroplasts and a nucleus.