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In this book present 405 images and interpretations of plant cell structure, obtained by light and electron microscopy, and analyse the structural organisation that is revealed in them in terms of the biology of plants. The relevance of structural aspects of plant cell biology has been greatly enhanced by the spectacular advances wrought by the "molecular revolution" Molecular biologists are obtaining more and more exciting new information on structure-function relationships, in subject areas previously accessed almost solely by microscopists. Their micrographs of cells and tissues appear frequently on covers of the latest copies of molecular research journals. The massive new population of researchers working on plant cell and molecular biology brings a renewed need for a compact source of basic interpretations of plant cell structures and their biology, and examples of the methods by which they may be observed. microscopy itself has seen remarkable advances. Novel forms of light and electron microscopes are providing valuable new views and insights. As well as these new instruments there is a mushrooming armoury of techniques based on (e.g.) monoclonal antibodies, gene probes, reagents that report on physiological states within living cells, cryo-techniques, genetic transformants and mutants. These new tools have made enquiries into structure-function relationships a richer field of research than ever before. Perhaps the greatest advances lie in the addition of precise biochemical identifications and functional analyses to structural descriptions, and in the opportunities for studies of dynamic aspects of live, fullyfunctional cells.