What Does Cystolith Mean?

Cystolith is a botanical term for outgrowths of the epidermal cell wall, usually of calcium carbonate, formed in a cellulose matrix in special cells called lithocysts, generally in the leaf of plants. Cystoliths are present in certain families, including in many genera of Acanthaceae.

What does the medical term Cystolith mean?

: a calcium carbonate concretion arising from the cellulose wall of cells of higher plants.

How do you identify Cystolith?

(Moraceae) is the presence of cystoliths, deposits of calcium carbonate inside enlarged epidermal (surface) cells. They are visible as dots or variously shaped marks, especially in pressed, dried leaves. They may serve as some kind of protection from leaf-eating insects or other animals.