Everything About Wood: Berberis vulgaris L.

Tuesday, 25 April 2017


Berberis vulgaris L.	Barberry	Berberidaceae

Transversal section
Ring-porous to semi-ring-porous. Growth ring boundaries undulating. Earlywood pore ring discontinuous. Latewood pores and vascular tracheids in clusters with a diagonal to dendritic orientation. Parenchyma diffuse, apotracheal.

Radial section
Simple perforation plates. Distinct spiral thickenings in vessels and vascular tracheids. Homogeneous rays, occasionally heterogeneous with one or two enlarged marginal cells. Libriform fibres present, fibre-tracheids absent.

Tangential section
Rays 5- to 7-seriate, rarely narrower or wider, very rarely uniseriate rays. Sheath cells occasionally present. Ray height up to 10 mm.

Key characters
Ring-porous. In latewood clusters of pores and vascular tracheids with a diagonal to dendritic orientation. Wide, high rays, generally homogeneous. Simple perforation plates, spiral thickenings.