Visualization of plant tissues by optical coherence tomography

The internal structure of plant tissues was visualized with optical coherence tomography (OCT). This noninvasive method is suitable for examining intact plants; it produces two-dimensional images of plant tissues at a penetration depth of 1-2 mm from the surface. The potential use of OCT was assessed on Tradescantia blossfeldiana Mild. Plant tissue images measuring 1.5 x 2 mm were obtained in vivo with a spatial resolution of 15 mum. The radiation power incident on a sample was 0.5 mW. The acquisition of a two-dimensional image consisting of 200 x 200 pixels required 1-3 s. The OCT method can be used to visualize not only plant tissues and tissue boundaries but also the structure of individual cells.