Abstract

Theobroma speciosum belongs to the Oreanthes section. The main characteristic of the cotyledonary tissue of T. speciosum is a large number of dispersed mucilage pockets. The histochemistry and morphology of its cotiledón and mucilage pockets were studied. The intrinsic metabolism of acid polysaccharides of a pectic nature and protein is described already [17] to control mucilage synthesis in the cells, a common feature in the first steps of phenol synthesis. The morphology of the cells around the mucilage pockets was not disturbed. The sections of fresh cotyledonary tissue demonstrated loosely arranged cells and the gradual expansión of the mucilage took advantage of the spaces among the cells. There was no evidence of lysigenous activity.