Fig 4. Agave leaf morphology.

Transverse section of A. tequilana leaf stained with toluidine blue (a). Crystals are situated at the junction between some parenchyma cells within the tissue and at the site of stomata at the epidermis. Vascular bundles and fibers in A. tequilana (b) and A. americana leaf (c) stained with basic fuchsin. Sclerenchymatous fiber cap (sfc); bundle sheath (bs); parenchyma cells (pc); guard cells (gc); cubic shaped crystals (csc); rod shaped crystals (rsc); vascular bundle (vb)