The Chymatous Zones

Left: Microscopic picture of parenchyma.

A variety of vacancies for gas exchange, respiration and buoyancy in plants are collectively known as the chymatous zones.

We needed to verify that the chymatous zones did indeed fill with the CO2 solution. Microscopic verification of this event was beyond our ken so we elected to derive this mathematically. 

We used data from a now historic, 1994 study done on chymatic pressure and area in leaves done at the Department of Plant Biology, Louisiana State University. 

For this test specifically, we soaked a 671mG pothos leaf in CO2 solution for 12 hours. We calculated the chymatous zone area of this leaf sample and determined it could have enough vacancy to contain approximately 65ul of fluid if 100% of the internal gasses were displaced by water. 

In 12 hours, a CO2-soaked leaf gained about 67uG of mass, nearly equaling the weight of 65uL of water! The gas spaces were capable of containing 65uL of fluid which weighed 67uG. 

Yet within a 24-hour period, the plant had yielded back 98% of the weight gain, nearly returning to the original weight!

This suggests liberal fluid passage into and exiting the plant, via the chymatous zones.