Potato amyloplasts. Coloured environmental scanning electron micrograph (ESEM) of amyloplasts (oval) in the sectioned cells of a potato (Solanum tuberosum). Amyloplasts are starch- storing plastids, or plant organelles. Starch is made from sucrose, a sugar formed in the leaves during photosynthesis and transported to the tuber (potato). It is used as a store of energy for the later development of buds on the surface of the potato. Unlike a conventional scanning electron microscope (SEM), samples placed into an environmental SEM do not have to be desiccated or coated in gold. Magnification unknown.