Everything About Wood: Amelanchier ovalis Med.

Friday, 7 April 2017


Amelanchier ovalis Med.	Pomaceous Fruit: Serviceberry, Shadbush	Rosaceae

Transversal section
Diffuse- to slightly semi-ring-porous. Numerous pores, mostly solitary, relatively small, more or less regularly distributed. Growth ring boundaries distinct to indistinct, dependent on distribution of pores, which varies with growth conditions. Ground tissue fibres relatively thick-walled. Diffuse apotracheal parenchyma, rarely in short, uniseriate tangential bands. Sometimes gum deposits in heartwood vessels.

Radial section
Simple perforation plates. Fine spiral thickenings occur occasionally in the vessels, often only in vessel element tails. Rays almost homogeneous, often with one row of square marginal cells. In some species there are more heterogeneous rays. Both prismatic crystals and druses sometimes present in rays or in axial parenchyma (idioblasts). Fibre-tracheids present, libriform fibres absent.

Tangential section
Rays generally bi- to triseriate, seldom 4-seriate. In some species rays are rather uni- to biseriate. Ray cells regularly round to slightly oval elongated. Average ray height: 5 to 20 cells.

Key characters
Diffuse- to semi-ring-porous. Rays generally biseriate, almost homogeneous. Simple perforation plates. Vessel pits opposite, in horizontal rows.

Remarks
Amelanchier ovalis can be distinguished from other Pomoidea species by the frequent presence of slightly heterogeneous rays.