General discussion of the significance of biophysics in plant morphology

Abstract

Over the last several decades, and particularly since the advent of the electron microscope, knowledge of the anatomy of plant cell walls has increased substantially. There has been a big increase also in knowledge of the physical form and some biochemical aspects of organelles within the protoplasm of the cell. Regretably however, the literature has not provided commensurate enlightenment on how the development of the plant cell wall is controlled, nor has it identified the prime factors that are central to that control. This situation suggests that the range of methods of investigation may have been less than adequate for this task; it occurred despite the involvement of many scientists with very high, proven capabilities within their separate disciplines.