wood is one of the most important substances in the human world: it’s essential for areas as diverse as music (instruments), construction, living (furniture, heating), art (sculptures) and has a broad spectrum of other uses.
its beauty can be found anywhere along the way, from a living tree to a carefully carved toothpick. going a bit deeper, it seems to just get more and more beautiful.
in this post, i’d like to show you the beauy of wood anatomy at a magnification that shows individual water transport vessels. core samples (5 mm diameter) were obtained from living trees during a dendrochronology class (the study of year rings, and what they can tell us about the environment), a few years ago. they were dried and carefully planed, and examined under a dissecting microscope. contrast was increased using chalk powder, which is why the vessels appear white, while cell walls stay brown.
pictures show the cross-section wood anatomy of scottish maple (acer pseudoplatanus), sweet chestnut (castanea sativa) and european larch (larix decidua).
preparation of a wood core sample of european larch (larix decidua)
wood core sample preparation – growth rings of varying width are visible even before the sample is prepared. (european larch, larix decidua)
wood core sample after increasing contrast: early- and late wood are more distinguished. (european larch, larix decidua)
wood core sample analysis setup: dissecting microscope and computer-interfaced measuring table (µm)
scottish maple (acer pseudoplatanus) – year rings and wood anatomy
scottish maple (acer pseudoplatanus) – year rings and wood anatomy
sweet chestnut (castanea sativa) – year rings and wood anatomy
sweet chestnut (castanea sativa) – year rings and wood anatomy
european larch (larix decidua) – year rings and wood anatomy (two resin channels in the far right late-wood)
european larch (larix decidua) – earlywood (light, big cell lumens) and latewood (brown, small lumens)
european larch (larix decidua) – earlywood (light, big cell lumens) and latewood (brown, small lumens)
european larch (larix decidua) – wood core sample shows a region of drought (around 1945; thin year rings, sometimes consisting of only a few cell rows)
european larch (larix decidua) – wood core sample shows 8+ years of drought (around 1945; thin year rings, sometimes consisting of only a few cell rows)
european larch (larix decidua) – wood core sample shows 8+ years of drought (around 1945; thin year rings, sometimes consisting of only a few cell rows). year ring borders marked by arrows.
european larch (larix decidua) – wood core sample shows an extremely small year ring (center of image, only 2-3 cell rows) following two substantially better years (left to right)