Summary
Inclined branches of Pseudowintera colorata exhibit pronounced growth promotion to the lower (abaxial) side similar to that found in gymnosperms. The only other significant difference between the anatomy of the upper and lower regions is that the tracheids on the lower side have a larger microfibril angle. Other microscopic features normally associated with compression wood or tension wood are completely absent. The longitudinal shrinkage of samples from the upper and lower regions is shown to be related to the mean microfibril angle in a highly non-linear way, and a relatively small change in microfibril angle is associated with a large change in longitudinal shrinkage. This result is in agreement with the hypothesis that compression wood force generation arises during the lignification phase of secondary wall deposition and is critically dependent on mean microfibril angle.
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The author is indebted to Mr R. R. Exley of this laboratory who prepared the samples and made all the measurements in this project
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Meylan, B.A. Reaction wood in Pseudowintera colorata — A vessel-less dicotyledon. Wood Sci. Technol. 15, 81–92 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00367855
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00367855