Fig. 5. Micrographs of alfalfa stem cross sections from Internode 7 showing anatomical development during internode maturation from Sampling Dates 1 through 5 (a through e) and corresponding residues remaining after 48-h in vitro degradation by rumen microbes (f through j). For each maturity stage, the control and degraded micrograph pairs are from serial sections taken from the same alfalfa shoot. Bar = 100 µm, c = cambium, ch = chlorenchyma, co = collenchyma, cl = waxy cuticle, e = epidermis, pp = primary phloem, pf = phloem fiber, pi = pith parenchyma, pxv = primary xylem vessels, xf = xylem fiber, sxv = secondary xylem vessels, x = xylem.
