Summary
The membranes of bordered pits were investigated in 120 species of 47 genera of the gymnospermous families, using light and electron microscopic techniques. A great variability in the morphological structure of the pit membranes has been established. The differences in structure are pronounced and depend mainly on the genus involved.
A classification of six morphological “structure types” is presented. They do not necessarily correspond with the chemical composition and the functional behaviour. The results on the variability of the pit membrane have shown the necessity of an extended definition for the torus.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bailey, I. W. 1913. The preservative treatment of wood. II. The structure of the pit membranes in the tracheids of conifers and their relation to the penetration of gases, liquids and finely divided solids into green and seasoned wood. For. Quart. 11: 12–20.
Bauch, J. 1971. Die Struktur der Hoftüpfelmembranen in Gymnospermen und ihr Einfluß auf die Wegsamkeit des Holzgewebes. Habil.schr., Universität Hamburg, 110 p.
Comstock, G. L., Côté, W. A. 1968. Factors affecting permeability and pit aspiration in coniferous sapwood. Wood Sci. Technol. 2: 279–291.
Côté, W. A. 1958. Electron microscope studies of pit membrane structure. Forest Prod. J. 8: 296–301.
Eicke, R. 1954. Beitrag zur Frage des Hoftüpfelbaues der Koniferen. Ber. Dtsch. Bot. Ges. 67: 213–217.
— 1957. Elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen an Gymnospermenhölzern als Beitrag zur Phylogenie der Gnetales. Bot. Jb. 77: 193–217.
— 1958. Die Bedeutung der Feinstruktur der Hoftüpfel für die Phylogenie der Gymnospermen. Z. f. Botanik 46: 5–15.
— 1962. Die Bedeutung der Feinstruktur des Holzes von Welwitschia mirabilis für die Phylogenie der Chlamydospermen. Bot. Jb. 81: 252–260.
—, Metzner-Küster, I. 1961. Feinbauuntersuchungen an den Tracheiden von Cycadeen und Encephalartos spec. Ber. Dtsch. Bot. Ges. 74: 99–104.
Fengel, D. 1966a. Entwicklung und Ultrastruktur der Pinaceen-Hoftüpfel. Svensk Papperstidn. 69: 232–241.
— 1966b. Zum Aufbau des Torus in Hoftüpfelmembranen. Naturwissenschaften 53: 363–364.
Frey-Wyssling, A., Bosshard, H. H. 1953. Über den Feinbau der Schließhäute in Hoftüpfeln. Holz Roh- Werkstoff 11: 417–420.
—, Mühlethaler, K. 1956. Die submikroskopische Entwicklung der Hoftüpfel. Planta 47: 115–126.
Harada, H. 1956. The electron-microscopic investigation of wood. — On the fine structure of the wart-like structure and of the pit-membrane. Transact. 65th Meet. Japan. For. Soc.: 1–8.
International Association of Wood Anatomists. 1964. Multilingual glossary of terms used in wood anatomy. Verlagsanst. Buchdruckerei Konkordia Winterthur: 186 p.
Jutte, S. M., Spit, R. J. 1963. The submicroscopic structure of bordered pits on the radial walls of tracheids in Parana pine, Kauri and European spruce. Holzforsch. 17: 168–175.
Krahmer, R. L., Côté, W. A. 1963. Changes in coniferous wood cells associated with heartwood formation. Tappi 46: 42–49.
Liese, W. 1951. Demonstration elektronenmikroskopischer Aufnahmen von Nadelholztüpfeln. Ber. Dtsch. Bot. Ges. 64: 31–32.
— 1964. Über die Struktur der Hoftüpfel bei den Gymnospermen. Proceed. 3rd Europ. Regional. Conf. on Electron Microscopy. Publ. House Czechosl. Acad. of Science, Prag, 167–168.
— 1965. The fine structure of bordered pits in softwoods. In W. A. Côté: Cellular Ultrastructure of Woody Plants. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 271–290.
—, Bauch, J. 1964. Über die Wegsamkeit der Hoftüpfel von Coniferen. Naturwissenschaften 51: 516.
— 1967a. On the closure of bordered pits in conifers. Wood Sci. Technol. 1: 1–13.
— 1967b. Über den Einfluß des Trocknens auf die axiale D Durchlässigkeit des Splintholzes von Gymnospermen. Souv., Indian Plywood Ind. Res. Ass., Bangalore: 35–40.
—, Fahnenbrock, M. 1952. Elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen über den Bau der Hoftüpfel. Holz Roh- Werkstoff 10: 197–201.
Russow, E. 1883. Zur Kenntnis des Holzes, in Besonderheit des Koniferenholzes. Bot. Col. 13: 29–40, 60–68, 95–109, 134–144, 166–173.
Sanio, K. 1873. Anatomie der gemeinen Kiefer (Pinus silvestris L.) Jahrb. wiss. Bot. 9: 50–126.
Strasburger, E. 1891. Über den Bau und die Verrichtungen der Leitungsbahnen in den Pflanzen. Histologische Beiträge 3: 998 p.
Thomas, R. J. 1969. The ultrastructure of southern pine bordered pit membranes as revealed by specialized drying techniques. Wood and Fiber 1: 110–123.
— 1970. Origin of bordered pit margo microfibrils. Wood and Fiber 2: 285–287.
— Nicholas, D. D. 1966. Pit membrane structure in Loblolly pine as influenced by solvent exchange-drying. Forest Prod. J. 16: 53–56.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dedicated to Prof. Dr. A. J. Stamm on the occasion of his 75 th birthday.
Gratitude is expressed to Prof. Dr. R. W. Kennedy and Dr. R. W. Meyer, Forest Products Laboratory, Vancouver, B. C., Prof. R. D. Graham, Prof. Dr. D. Hermann and Prof. Dr. R. Krahmer, School of Forestry, Corvallis, Oregon, and Prof. Dr. V. La Marche, University of Arizona, Tucson, for their support in obtaining wood samples. Thanks are also due to Mrs. H. Berndt for her careful technical assistance.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bauch, J., Liese, W. & Schultze, R. The morphological variability of the bordered pit membranes in gymnosperms. Wood Science and Technology 6, 165–184 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00351575
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00351575