needles under microscope

hello,

i'm a high-school student and one of my assignments was to look at a leaf under the microscope. i picked a leaf of an orchid. it is probably worth mentioning that the orchid is dyed blue, including the leaves.

when i took a look at the leaf under the microscope, i noticed these little needles. i asked my teacher what they are and she didn't know and tasked me with finding out for extra credit. i looked all over the internet and was only able to find something about spicules, which i didn't think was what i saw under the microscope.

so, any ideas? i'd greatly appreciate the help. 🙂