On the cover Picea abies – crystalline apex, isolated from winter bud, displays sheer beauty of phyllotaxis. New findings show that plant controls strictly its chirality in the laterals of branching shoot (see inside the issue). The apex unusual feature is chlorophyll distribution pattern exposed by the pigment’s red autofluorescence. Chlorophyll is present in the cells of the apical dome (center), absent in the youngest leaf primordia and emerges gradually as they age.

[Author: Magdalena Turzańska]