The Filament Bundle of Mentha piperita

Abstract

Bundles consisting of 6 to 8 parallel filaments (6 nm thick) are localized in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus - particularly in mesophyll cells and in 3-celled capitate glandular hairs, but not in the 10-celled glandular peltate hairs of the leaves of Mentha piperita. They are present in as yet 8 investigated species of the genus Mentha, but not in 8 further genera of the Lamiaceae. The bundles are therefore genus-specific; they consist of protein only. A possible connection with the production of essential oil is discussed.

Key words

Mentha species - filament bundle - glandular trichome - propagation of filament bundles - pronase