Wood Anatomy of Tree Rings

Tree growth begins with photosynthesis to produce new

wood when the growing season begins.
 Like
“melting
wax” !!

Trees grow upward and outward (including root tips), but…

… tree growth actually

begins in the crown and
moves downward due to the
growth regulator, auxin.
Like
“melting
wax” !!
Meristems:
apical and
lateral
growth

D: cell
division
E: cell
elongation
M: cell
maturation
Meristems:
annual
growth can
also be seen
in the
branching
patterns of
many tree
species (esp.
conifers)
When we
dissect the
trunk, we can
see this
annual
incremental
growth, both
upward and
outward.

STEM
ANALYSIS
Locally Absent Rings

Rings may be locally

absent along the
length of the tree.
 False Ring

Cells leading into the

false ring will
gradually decrease in
size and then
gradually increase
back to earlywood
cells.
Viewing wood: tangential, radial, and transverse planes. We are
only interested in which of these?
Definitions:

Cambium: the growing (generative) layer between the xylem and phloem.

Xylem: principle strengthening and water conducting tissue of the stem,

roots, and branches.

Phloem: inner bark, principal function to distribute manufactured

foodstuffs.

Bark: dead, outer tissue that protects the cambium from the external
environment and exposure to pathogens and physical injury.

Vessel: the composite, tube-like structure found in hardwoods from the

fusion of cells in a longitudinal column.

Fiber: an elongated cell with pointed ends and a thick or infrequently thin
wall.

Rays: ribbon-shaped tissue extending in a radial direction across the grain

of the wood.
Note the five major portions of the tree trunk.
Phloem (inner bark)

Cambium

Xylem (wood)
Role of
heartwood
is…?

Role of
sapwood
is…?
The Wood Cell:
1. Holocellulose
a. alpha-cellulose (40-50%) = non-soluble =
long-chain polymers (glucose)
b. hemicellulose (20-35%) = readily soluble =
short-chain polysaccharides
2. Lignin (15-35%) – non-carbohydrate materials in
cell wall, very complex chemical structure.
3. Numerous Extractives – can be removed!
a. tannins
b. oils and resins
c. other complex organic compounds
 Cell
lumen

Cell wall