Aim: To study the Transverse Section (T.S.) of Clove buds.

Reference-(1) Dr. Gupta G.D, Dr. Sharma Shailesh, Kaur Navjit, Practical Manual of
PHARMACOGNOSY Publisher Nirali Prakashan, Edition-I october 2021, Page No. 87
(2) Khandelwal K. R. Practical Pharmacognosy Techniques and Experiments Publisher Nirali
Prakashan, Edition-19 Page No. 15.1-15.3
Requirements: Clove buds, Glycerin, Safranin,Water,Watch Glass, slide. Cover slip, Blade, Brush and
Compound Microscope.

Theory- Transverse Section

The nature and arrangement of tissue system can be studied conveniently by cutting thin sections of
plant parts transversely.Transverse section is a cut made in a plane that is made across the body of an
animal, a plant, an organ, or a tissue. It is usually referred as the cut made between left and right. The
transverse section usually runs between the lateral ends of an organism, from left to right or the other
way around. A transverse section is right-angled with the longitudinal section. This section can be made
through different levels or heights of an organ or a structure.Usually, a transverse section would not
reveal all the structures in an animal or a plant since organs are different tissues formed at different
levels inside the organism. Therefore, few sections have to be made to understand the entire anatomy
of an organism.
Procedure-
Section cutting
1. Hold the material being examined between the first finger and thumb of the left hand.
2. The position of the thumb should be just below the surface of the material to avoid injury to the
finger. Take the razor blade in the right hand and cut the number of sections.
3. Put all sections in watch glass containing water always using a brush, not a forceps or needle.
4. Then Put all sections in watch glass containing Safranin for staining.
5. Take a clean slide and place a drop of glycerine water in the centre of the slide.
6. Select the thin section of material and put it on the slide Place cover slip on the material being
examined without any air bubbles trapped inside.
7. Focus the slides containing material under the microscope and adjust the require illumination
with the help of condenser and diaphragm.

Observation of T.S. of Clove Buds-

Microscopy

The transverse section should be taken through the short upper portion which has the bilocular ovary
and also through the hypanthium region.
The transverse section through the hypanthium shows the following characters-
It has a single layer of epidermis covered with thick cuticle.
The cortex has three distinct region: the peripheral region with two to three layers of schizolysigenous
oil glands, embedded in parenchymatous cells.
The middle layer has few layers of bicollateral vascular bundle.
In the inner portion it has loosely arranged aerenchyma cells.
The central cylinder contains thick-walled parenchyma with a ring of bicollateral vascular bundles and
abundant sphaeraphides.
The T.S. through ovary region shows the presence of an ovary with numerous ovules in it.

Result-The Transverse Section (T.S.) of Clove buds were successfully studied.

(a) T.S. passing through hypanthium. (b) T.S. passing through ovary
Transverse section of clove flower bud