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The ARP2/3 complex is an important regulator of actin nucleation and branching in eukaryotes. All seven subunits of the complex have been identified in Arabidopsis, and mutation of at least three of them results in defects in epidermal cell expansion, including distorted trichomes. In mammilian cells, WAVE and WASP proteins are involved in activation of the ARP2/3 complex. Brembu et al. (pages 2335-2349) show that the WAVE1 regulatory complex is partly conserved in plants, and they identify Arabidopsis genes encoding homologs of several WAVE regulators. The results show that the ARP2/3 complex in plants is regulated through an evolutionarily conserved mechanism. The cover image shows organization of F-actin by stable expression of a yellow fluorescent protein-mTalin fusion protein in a trichome of a plant carrying a T-DNA insertion in the WAVE regulator gene PIRP. Whereas wild-type trichomes show mainly longitudinally orientated actin cables, the mutant exhibits a more random pattern of orientation with thick actin cables extending both longitudinally and tranversely across the trichome.