Rub a mint leaf and sniff your fingers. That smell comes from tiny hairs with little round heads that make oils!
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Glandular trichomes are plant hairs with a stalk and a little head on top. The head is made of cells that make special chemicals.
Some heads store their oil under a thin cover, like a tiny balloon. Others ooze sticky goo.
You can find them on mint, basil, lavender, and tomato plants.
Gently rub a mint, basil, or tomato leaf (with a grown-up's okay), then sniff your fingers. You just popped open some gland hairs!
The chemicals these hairs make protect the plant:
Many smells in your kitchen, like mint and basil, come from oil made in these tiny hairs.
Press Pop the oil on the 3D model to see drops of oil come out of the heads.
By Science and Plants for Schools. Good for older kids.
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