Plant sphingolipids: function follows form

► Plant sphingolipids contain an array of variant ceramide structures. ► Long-chain base hydroxylation and desaturation impact biosynthetic routing. ► Ceramide synthases dictate fatty acid chain-length and long-chain base composition. ► Sphingolipid structure impacts signaling, membrane trafficking, and other processes. ► Sphingolipid homeostatic regulation is impacted by sphingolipid structure.