Due to a non-vertical orientation of the stem or branch, which may begin as responses of prevailing winds, snow, slope, or asymmetric crown shape, a specialized wood tissue forms, is called “reaction wood”. In hardwood species, the reaction wood tends to form on the upper side of a leaning stem or branch, is known to as “tension wood”. It is usually related with eccentric growth and changes in ...

Numerical modeling, such as finite element analysis (FEA), of complex structures and complex materials is a useful tool for stress analysis and for failure modeling. Although FEA of wood as an anisotropic continuum is used, numerical modeling of realistic wood structures, including details of wood anatomy and variations in structure within specimens, has been beyond the capabilities of FEA and ...

Wood differs from other construction materials because it is produced in a living tree. As a result, wood possesses material properties that may be significantly different from other materials normally encountered in structural design. Although it is not necessary to have an in-depth knowl­ edge of wood anatomy and properties, it is necessary for the engineer to have a general understanding of ...

Qualitative and quantitative features are reported for five Hawaiian and one New Guinean species of Tetramolopium. Tetramolopium humile differs from the other Hawaiian species in its numerous narrow vessels, numerous vasicentric tracheids, and wide rays. Although these features are adaptive in the dry alpine localities of T. humile, they would be adaptive also in the remaining species, which ar...

The wood anatomy of ring-porous trees presents difficulties of description and measurement. Information regarding the distribution of vessel diameters within the yearly growth increment may be of use of interpreting wood anatomy and function. Two distributional patterns can be recognized in the trunk xylem of the five ring-porous species investigated. The following terms are proposed: graduated...

Wood density is considered a key plant trait, affecting mechanical and physiological performance, yet its biological meaning is still rather unclear. Accordingly we investigated the anatomical underpinnings of wood density in trees and shrubs. We measured wood density and anatomical traits in distal stems 4–10 mm diameter under bark in 24 Australian species. Proportions of wood components that ...

Trees are among the best natural archives of past environmental information. Xylem anatomy preserves information related to tree allometry and ecophysiological performance, which is not available from the more customary ring-width or wood-density proxy parameters. Recent technological advances make tree-ring anatomy very attractive because time frames of many centuries can now be covered. This ...