Edmund Russow an authority on Sphagnaceae (sphagnum mosses) and remembered for his research in plant anatomy and histology, in particular studies of the plant family Marsileaceae (aquatic and semi-aquatic ferns). The plant genus "Russowia" is named in his honor, as is "Sphagnum russowii" (Russow's sphagnum). Edmund Russow Edmund August Friedrich Russow (24 February 1841 – 11 April 1897) was a Baltic German biologist born in Tallinn (), in present-day Estonia. Son of a military engineer, Edmund Russow studied at the Universities of Tartu () and Berlin. In 1867 he became an associate professor at Dorpat, where from 1874 to 1897, he served
Plant cell quite elongated, and may divide transversely to give a septate appearance. The role of this cell type is to support the plant in axes still growing in length, and to confer flexibility and tensile strength on tissues. The primary wall lacks lignin that would make it tough and rigid, so this cell type provides what could be called plastic support – support that can hold a young stem or petiole into the air, but in cells that can be stretched as the cells around them elongate. Stretchable support (without elastic snap-back) is a good way to describe what collenchyma does.