Despite extensive work over several decades, the electronic structure of Pu in its various allotropes is not yet understood in detail. It is generally accepted that f-bands in &agr;-Pu are strongly hybridized with 6d bands, and moreover that there may exist direct f-f overlap, while in &dgr;-Pu there is a much greater tendency toward localization of the 5f electrons. Since photoemission spectroscopy (PES) is the most direct experimental tool for probing the electronic structure of materials, it is utilized to observe the assumed differences described above. We report PES results on &agr;- and &dgr;-Pu using a laser plasma light source (LPLS) as well as HeI and HeII radiation. Surprisingly, we find only minimal differences in the electronic structures of &agr;- and &dgr;-Pu (except near the Fermi energy) despite large differences in structural and mechanical properties. ©2000 American Institute of Physics.