Mucilage Glue 3.5 Oz., Press Dispense Bottle .

A naturally occurring, high-molecular-weight (200,000 and up), organic plant product of unknown detailed structure. The term is loosely used, often interchangeably with the term gum. Chemically, mucilage is closely allied to gums and pectins but differs in certain physical properties. Although gums swell in water to form sticky, colloidal dispersions and pectins gelatinize in water, mucilages form slippery, aqueous colloidal dispersions. Mucilages are formed in normal plant growth within the plant by mucilage-secreting hairs, sacs, and canals, but they are not found on the surface as exudates as a result of bacterial or fungal action after mechanical injury, as are gums. Mucilages occur in nearly all classes of plants in various parts of the plant, usually in relatively small percentages, and are not infrequently associated with other substances, such as tannins. The chief industrial sources of mucilages are Icelandic and Irish moss, linseed, locust bean, slippery elm bark, and quince seed. See also Adhesive; Gum; Pectin.