We often contrast unicellular and multicellular organisms. The latter consist of many cells rather than just one, but there's more to multicellularity than that. Virtually all multicelled organisms consist of a variety of different types of cells, which differ from one another in structure and function. Of course, the details vary from group to group. Table 1-1 is a summary of major vascular plant cell types.
Cells are in turn organized into tissues .
Major plant tissues are summarized in Table 1-2. The sections should be cut as thin as possible. It will probably be necessary to steady the leaf blade by sandwiching it between two slides or by making a slit in a piece of foam plastic. Stain with toluidine blue and sketch the basic arrangement of tissues in each organ. You might also want to try some phloroglucinol, which will help you pick out the lignin of secondary walls.