What is ‘wood’ – An anatomical re-definition

Published Date
Dendrochronologia
2013, Vol.31(3):187–191, doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2013.04.003

PERSONAL NOTE

• Author 

• Fritz Hans Schweingruber ^a
 
• Ulf Büntgen ^a,b,c,,

• aSwiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape (WSL), 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
• bOeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR), University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
• cGlobal Change Research Centre AS CR, v.v.i., Bělidla 986/4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic

Received 1 February 2013. Accepted 22 April 2013. Available online 31 July 2013. 

Abstract

The technical definition of ‘wood’ is well accepted, but its botanical understanding remains vague. Different degrees and amounts of lignification in plants and their imprecise description, together with a conceptually doubtful life form catalog including trees, shrubs and herbs further complicate our understanding of ‘wood’. Here, we use permanent micro sections to demonstrate that the xylem and bark of terrestrial plants can vary from one tissue with a few lignified cells to an almost fully lignified tissue. This universal principle of plant growth and stabilization, accounting for all taxonomic units within vascular plants, suggests that the classical life form separation into herbs, shrubs and trees is not valid. An anatomical-based differentiation between ‘wood’, ‘woody’ and ‘woodiness’ is also only meaningful if supplemented by insight on the particular plant section and its lignified proportion. We therefore recommend utilizing the botanically more neutral term ‘stem anatomy’ instead of ‘wood anatomy’, which further implies integration of the xylem and bark of all terrestrial plants. Since dendrochronology considers shrubs, dwarf shrubs and perennial herbs in addition to trees, its semantic expansion toward ‘xylemchronology’ might be worthwhile considering.

Keywords

Dendrochronology

Wood anatomy 

Life form

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  Corresponding author at: Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape (WSL), 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland. Tel.: +41 44 739 2281; fax: +41 44 739 2215.

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