DENDROLOGY

Wood Anatomy Lab IV

Angiosperm Wood

I. The first part of this exercise will acquaint you with fundamental anatomical features of

angiosperm wood. The numbers in (parentheses) following each feature below refers to the slide number in the green box labeled Angiosperm Wood Demos. The numbers in [brackets] refer to the specimen numbers in the brown wooden XRT identification collection. You will find the on-line help feature of the Angiosperm Wood component of the MUDES of use during this exercise.

PLEASE RETURN ALL SLIDES TO THEIR APPROPRIATE SLOTS WHEN YOU ARE

DONE VIEWING THEM!

Specific objectives for you to strive to master include: a) What section (transverse X, radial

longitudinal R, or tangential longitudinal T) is best to use in assessing a particular character

state? Hints are provided via abbreviations in the outline below. b) What are the features

associated with each character that will permit you to classify the state of that character?

The NUMBERS in the following outline refer to feature numbers in the hardwood datasheet.

NA implies that you will not encounter this feature in your study of our selection of North

American woods.

GROWTH RINGS

Variation in vessel size within a growth ring

84. Distinct (examine transverse area of wood)

85. Ring porous Quercus (DEMO 2) X [14]

86. Semi-ring porous Prunus (DEMO 1) X [9]

--. Diffuse porous Nyssa (DEMO 3) X Acer [4] Guess users - code 85 & 86 Absent

VESSELS

Pattern of aggregation

1. Exclusively solitary Eucalyptus (DEMO 4) X Quercus [14]

--. Radial groups of 2-4 Carya [19] Guess users - code 1,2,3,4,5 Absent

2. Radial groups of 4 Amyris (DEMO 5) X Ilex [6]

3. Radial or oblique Castanea (DEMO 6) X [16]

4. Tangential arrangement Ulmus (DEMO 25) X [11]

5. Pore clusters Gymnocladus (DEMO 26) X Platanus [7]

Perforation Plates

6. Perforation plate simple Castanea (DEMO 6) RT [16]

7. Multiple perforation plate Liriodendron (DEMO 7) RT [12]

8. Number of bars Liriodendron (DEMO 7) RT [12]

Pit and wall details

9. Spirals Magnolia (DEMO 8) RT [10]

10. Pits minute Betula (DEMO 9) R [13]

11. Pits opposite or scalariform Liriodendron (DEMO 7) RT [12] or Magnolia (DEMO 8) RT [10]

--. Pits alternate Betula (DEMO 9) RT [13] Guess users - code 11 Absent

12. Pits vestured (NA)

13. Vessels absent (NA) but NB. Absence of vessels in our material implies you are

looking at a gymnosperm and therefore you should be using the softwood data

sheet!

Lumen features

14. Tyloses abundant Quercus alba (DEMO 10) XRT [15]

15. Tyloses sclerosed (NA)

16. Deposits or gum (NA)

Metric features

Count the number seen in a 10X objective field:

17. Fewer than 5/sq. mm Carya illinoensis [19]

18. Fewer than 20/sq. mm

--. 20-40/sq. mm Soft Maple [4] Guess users - code 17,18,19 Absent

19. More than 40/sq. mm Fagus [17]

Tangential diameter. Determine this feature using wood samples:

20. < 50 microns - Not visible to naked eye. Ilex [6]

21. < 100 microns - Larger pores barely visible to naked eye. Soft Maple [4]

--. 100-200 microns Betula [13] Guess users - code 20,21,22 Absent

22. > 200 microns - Distictly visible to naked eye. Carya illionensis [19]

FIBERS, ETC.

23. Septate Canarium (DEMO 11) RT

24. Thick walled Diospyros (DEMO 12) XRT Fraxinus [1]

25. Pits distinctly bordered=fiber tracheids Diospyros (DEMO 2) R Carya [18]

26. Tracheids Quercus (DEMO 10) XR [14]

27. Spiral thickenings Ilex (DEMO 13) RT [6]

RAYS

28. Commonly > 1 mm high Ilex (DEMO 13) T [6]

Degree of seriation.

29. Exclusively 1-seriate Populus (DEMO 14) T Tilia [3]

--. Commonly 2-3-seriate Fraxinus nigra [2] Guess users - code 29,30,31 Absent.

30. Commonly 4-10-seriate Ilex (DEMO 13) T [6]

31. Commonly > 10-seriate Platanus (DEMO 15) T [7]

32. Aggregate rays Robinia (DEMO 16) T

33. Two distinct widths Quercus (DEMO 10) T [14]

Type of marginal cells.

34. Homocellular Populus (DEMO 14) RT Betula [13]

--. 1-2 marginal rows Ochroma (DEMO 17) RT Liriodendron [12] Guess users - code 34,35,36 Absent.

35. 4 or more marginal rows Nyssa (DEMO 3) RT Ilex [6]

36. 10 or more marginal rows Gleospermum (DEMO 18) RT

37. Bi- or tri- seriate parts narrow (NA)

38. Tile cells (NA)

39. Sheath cells (NA)

40. Canals or latex tubes (NA)

41. Storied (NA)

Metric features.

42. Commonly < 4/mm Platanus (DEMO 15) XT [7]

--. 4-12/mm Castanea (DEMO 6) XT [16] Guess users code 42,43 Absent.

43. Commonly > 12/mm (NA)

44. Ray parenchyma - vessel pits large Weinmannia (DEMO 19) R Castanea [16]

AXIAL PARENCHYMA

Use polarized optics to facilitate identification.

45. Predominately apotracheal (includes diffuse, diffuse aggregate, and banded - see

features 46 and 51). Lithocarpus (DEMO 20) X Juglans cinerea [21]

46. Diffuse Malpighia (DEMO 21) X Juglans cinerea [21]

47. Predominately paratracheal Castanea (DEMO 6) X [16]

48. Vasicentric Weinmannia (DEMO 19) X Ulmus [11]

49. Aliform or confluent Maclura (DEMO 22) X Fraxinus [1]

50. Rare or absent Liquidambar (DEMO 23) X [8]

51. Banded Maclura (DEMO 22) X Fraxinus [1]

52. Bands 1-seriate Platanus (DEMO 15) X [7]

53. Bands > 4 seriate Robinia (DEMO 16) X

54. Bands > 6/mm Carya illinoiensis (DEMO 24) X [19]

55. Storied (NA)

56. Fusiform cells common (NA)

57. Marginal/zonate Fraxinus (DEMO 25) X [1]

OTHER FEATURES

58 - 66. (NA)

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

67. Dinstinct odour (NA)

68. Distinctive colour - look at the wood

69-71. (NA)

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

74-79,81-83 (NA)

80. North America

Time, resources, and scope of objectives limit this class to consideration of woods

endemic to the continent of North America. That's not to say that there are not plenty of

woods worthy of your attention outside the scope of this class, we simply do not have the time or

money to investigate them.

II. Keying woods. The second part of this exercise will give you practice in applying what

you mastered in the first section. Using what you have learned relative to character state

assessment identify the "unknown" angiosperm specimens 1-21, using the wood and XRT

slide samples that are provided and the Angiosperm Wood component of the MUDES.

ALL WOOD SAMPLES AND WOOD SECTIONS MUST BE REPLACED IN THE

EXACT POSITION FROM WHICH YOU OBTAINED THEM!.

ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE: YOU WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY 21 KINDS OF HARD

(ANGIOSPERM) WOOD EITHER BY SIGHT OR MICROSCOPIC IDENTIFICATION.