ABSTRACT
Volatile compounds serve many functions in plants. The physical properties that make them volatile—low molecular mass, strong lipophilicity—also make it likely that these compounds exert toxic effect on living organisms, including the plants that produce them. Therefore, plants have evolved specialized structures, known collectively as glands, to produce and store high levels of such compounds without damage to the rest of the plant. This chapter reviews these structures, which include glandular trichomes that protrude from the epidermal layer, subdermal single-cell “idioblasts,” secretory cavities, and secretory ducts, and describe the volatiles that they contain. In addition, some anatomically less well-defined internal areas of the plant, such as heartwood and “scent glands,” are also discussed.
