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Crystal Morphology and ¹³Carbon/¹²Carbon Composition of Solid Oxalate in Cacti ¹

^a Department of Botany and Cell Research Institute, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712

Morphology, crystal structure, and carbon isotopic composition of calcium oxalate from representative species from the family Cactaceae were determined using scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Crystals from one species in the Opuntieae tribe of the Cactaceae were druses with acute points composed of the monohydrate form of calcium oxalate (whewellite). Crystals from three species in the Cereeae tribe were the dihydrate form of calcium oxalate (weddellite) forming druses made up of tetragonal and isodiametric crystallites. The oxalate was relatively enriched in ¹³C isotope (-7.3 to - 8.7 ) compared with woody fibers (-13.3 to 14.1 ) from the same plants.

³ Present address: Department of Botany and Range Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602.

¹ This work has been supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation (GB-40101), the University of Texas Research Institute, and the Cell Research Institute of the University of Texas.

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