Lecture

Wood Anatomy: Cells Formation and Microscopic Structure

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

In course

MSE-466: Wood structures, properties and uses

The presentation of tree growth and formation of wood anatomical structures, linked to the description of specific physical and mechanical properties, makes it possible to understand the different forms of utilisation of this material, including aspects of ...

Description

This lecture covers the anatomy of wood, including the formation of cells like bast, cambium, and rhytidoma, as well as the microscopical structure of wood and its different parts such as heartwood and bark.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Biology

Botany: Plant morphology

Related concepts (19)

Tissue (biology)

In biology, tissue is a historically derived biological organizational level between cells and a complete organ. A tissue is therefore often thought of as an assembly of similar cells and their extracellular matrix from the same origin that together carry out a specific function. Organs are then formed by the functional grouping together of multiple tissues. The English word "tissue" derives from the French word "tissu", the past participle of the verb tisser, "to weave".

Vascular tissue

Vascular tissue is a complex conducting tissue, formed of more than one cell type, found in vascular plants. The primary components of vascular tissue are the xylem and phloem. These two tissues transport fluid and nutrients internally. There are also two meristems associated with vascular tissue: the vascular cambium and the cork cambium. All the vascular tissues within a particular plant together constitute the vascular tissue system of that plant. The cells in vascular tissue are typically long and slender.

Ground tissue

The ground tissue of plants includes all tissues that are neither dermal nor vascular. It can be divided into three types based on the nature of the cell walls. Parenchyma cells have thin primary walls and usually remain alive after they become mature. Parenchyma forms the "filler" tissue in the soft parts of plants, and is usually present in cortex, pericycle, pith, and medullary rays in primary stem and root. Collenchyma cells have thin primary walls with some areas of secondary thickening.

Bark (botany)

Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines, and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner bark, which in older stems is living tissue, includes the innermost layer of the periderm. The outer bark on older stems includes the dead tissue on the surface of the stems, along with parts of the outermost periderm and all the tissues on the outer side of the periderm.

Cork cambium

Cork cambium (pl. cambia or cambiums) is a tissue found in many vascular plants as a part of the epidermis. It is one of the many layers of bark, between the cork and primary phloem. The cork cambium is a lateral meristem and is responsible for secondary growth that replaces the epidermis in roots and stems. It is found in woody and many herbaceous dicots, gymnosperms and some monocots (monocots usually lack secondary growth). It is one of the plant's meristems – the series of tissues consisting of embryonic disk (incompletely differentiated) cells from which the plant grows.

Related lectures (8)

Tree Sap Circulation: Anatomy and Growth

Explores tree sap circulation, wood anatomy, growth rings, and vessel elements.

Wood Anatomy: Cells Structures and Functions

Explores the anatomy of wood, focusing on cellular structures and functions like knots and annual rings.

Towards Clinical Translation of Bioprinting

Explores the journey of a bioprinting pioneer and the development of Poieskin®, a lead candidate for tissue therapeutics.

Ecological Research: Madagascar to Colombia

Explores an ecologist's journey from Madagascar to Colombia, covering peatlands, soil restoration, and oil palm plantations.

Wood Anatomy: Structure and Properties