In Cichorium hybrid clone 474 (C. intybus L. var. sativum × C. endivia L. var. latifolia), direct somatic embryogenesis was induced from roots. Using transmission electron microscopy, we followed the ultrastructural changes of the outer cell wall in relation to embryo developmental stage. During the transition from an embryogenic cell to a somatic embryo, the differentiation of the outer cell wall involved both deposition and rearrangement processes. During the first divisions, the cell wall of few-celled embryos still enclosed in the root tissue appeared as a large amorphous layer of cellulose, thicker than the cell walls of the root cortex cells. When the proembryo emerged from the root cells, the outer wall surface exhibited a fibrillar material designated as the supraembryonic network. As this network disappeared, the outer cell wall changed organization, and two domains were distinguished. At the torpedo stage, the outer cell wall was more compact without any gaps and the protoderm was differentiated...