Summary The storied structure in wood anatomy is considered derived and highly specialized, and is present in some related families. The first records of this character are from the Cretaceous, but it is scarce in the Cretaceous and Paleocene, and apparently absent until the Eocene in the temperate Southern Hemisphere. Using standard methodology, we describe the anatomy of a fossil wood from the early Paleocene of Patagonia (Salamanca Formation). The fossil wood, assigned to a new genus and species Elizabethiaxylon patagonicum related to the Malvaceae, is characterized by its diffuse-porous wood, solitary vessels, simple perforation plates, apotracheal banded axial parenchyma, and mostly biseriate storied rays. The storied structure in this wood is one of the oldest records from Gondwana.

Summary Wisteria is a legume genus composed of lianas with a disjunct distribution, occurring in temperate zones of eastern Asia and the eastern United States, being also introduced in numerous countries as an ornamental. The anatomy of the wood has been previously studied for W. sinensis and only some characteristics of the phloem have been reported for this species. Here we describe the overall wood and bark anatomy of four Wisteria species and identify diagnostic, informative anatomical features to sort them for identification purposes among the species of the genus. Samples were collected from natural, naturalized, and introduced populations and processed using traditional anatomical techniques, while a few samples were analyzed from photos available online. Wisteria species show conserved wood anatomy, even if species occur as far apart as Asia and North America. The presence of a cambial variant, vessel dimorphism, G-fibers, non-lignified axial, and ray parenchyma is common and is here interpreted as part of the lianescent syndrome. The subepidermal origin of the periderm is taxonomically informative within the subfamily. The few variable features that vary among species are the arrangement of narrow vessels: radial to dendritic pattern in the specie W. frutescens and arranged in clusters in the species distributed in Eastern Asia. Also, the ray cell composition: procumbent, square, and upright cells mixed through the body in the specie W. sinensis and procumbent to square cells in the body and upright in the margins in the species W. brachybotrys and W. frutescens.

Summary In 1962 Carlquist published “A Theory of Paedomorphosis in Dicotyledonous Woods” based on his observations that some species of non-tree growth forms such as stem succulents, lianas, woody herbs, and tree rosettes exhibit, in their secondary xylem, cellular characteristics more commonly associated with primary xylem. He considered the appearance of these characters an expression of protracted juvenility, and that they reflected paedomorphosis. Since then, many others have observed similar suites of traits across multiple plant lineages, as these traits also characterize secondary and insular woodiness, and have used ‘paedomorphic’ and ‘juvenile’ to describe these traits. In this essay, it is argued that the use of the term paedomorphosis should be restricted to cases where ancestor/descendant relationships are known or used in a comparative sense among closely related taxa, to retain its significance as a descriptor of an evolutionary pattern. Second, it is argued that primary growth, and therefore primary xylem, should not be considered ‘juvenile’ because it is not characteristic only of the young, pre-reproductive phases of plant growth but instead persists for the life of the plant. Because both the concepts of juvenility and paedomorphosis possess more or less well-accepted modern meanings that differ in important ways from Carlquist’s use of the terms, a different approach is suggested that focuses on the functional significance of this suit of traits, in addition to their cellular characteristics.

Summary Sherwin Carlquist’s work was filled with inferences of xylem function, and yet he did not carry out xylem physiological or biomechanical measurements. Moreover, his quantitative analyses were rudimentary and he disliked the standard scientific practice of quantifying uncertainty with statistical analyses. Also, took few pains to explain to other functional xylem biologists why his comparative approach was useful and appropriate. Here, I discuss why nevertheless his papers are extremely valuable contributions to inferences of xylem function. The most important insight is that Sherwin used a valid and essential approach for the inference of biological function, known as the comparative method. Together with optimality models, population biology (including xylem physiology), and studies of developmental potential, the comparative method is an indispensable part of a maximally supported inference of xylem structure–function relation. Detecting his insightful inferences of function often requires reading around his various idiosyncrasies, including the lack of statistics and instead his reliance on his extraordinary memory to detect patterns. With this guide to reading Carlquist’s work, I hope to give functional xylem physiologists better access to the richest and most wide-ranging body of functional hypotheses found in the xylem literature.

Summary Environmental adaptation and cell differentiation processes are factors that influence the anatomical elements of wood. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of water deficit on lignin composition in anatomical elements and on the characteristics of vessel-neighboring cells. Six-year-old clones of Eucalyptus urophylla and Eucalyptus grandis × Eucalyptus camaldulensis from wet and dry regions were used. All regions received a rainfall exclusion treatment. Cell wall width, cell wall thickness, and form factor of fibers close to and far from vessels were measured. In the same cells, lignin was measured in the middle lamella and vessels by a fluorescence technique. The vessel differentiation process affected cell wall thickness and lignin composition in neighboring cells. Lignin composition was increased in vessels compared to fibers or vasicentric tracheids. Middle lamella lignin was not affected by vessel differentiation or water deficit in either eucalyptus clone. E. grandis × E. camaldulensis is originally from a dry climate region and, therefore, did not suffer alterations in lignin when subjected to water stress conditions; however, this clone exhibited a higher number of vasicentric tracheids. E. urophylla is originally from a humid climate region and, when subjected to water deficit, showed increased wood lignin composition, which seems to be a strategy for better use of water resources. Alterations in lignin composition of vessel, vasicentric tracheid, and fiber cell walls resulting from exposure to water deficit conditions vary according to eucalyptus species.

Summary We describe two new fossil woods from the San Carlos Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Chihuahua State, Mexico. The first wood resembles the fossil genus Metcalfeoxylon in having solitary vessels, scalariform perforation plates, vessel-ray parenchyma pits of similar size as the intervessel pits, axial parenchyma apotracheal diffuse and diffuse in aggregates, and heterocellular multiseriate rays with long, uniseriate tails. The second wood is a new fossil genus, and it is characterized by having diffuse porous wood, vessels predominantly solitary, vessel outlines oval and tending to be of two diameter classes, simple perforation plates, minute alternate intervessel pits, vessel-ray parenchyma pits similar to intervessel pits in size and shape, vasicentric tracheids, non-septate fibers, homocellular rays, and exclusively uniseriate and biseriate rays. This combination of features supports its placement in Myrtales (?Myrtaceae), in a new fossil-genus named Lazarocardenasoxylon. These two new records provide more information about the floristic composition of the Late Cretaceous flora of the San Carlos Formation and its relationship with those from the southern USA. However, a definitive picture of the floristic relationship of these Cretaceous floras of northern Mexico and southern USA remains elusive.

Summary Ground parenchyma cells play a crucial role in the growth and the mechanical properties of bamboo plants. Investigation of the morphology of ground parenchyma cells is essential for understanding the physiological functions and mechanical properties of these cells. This study aimed to characterize the anatomical structure of bamboo ground parenchyma cells and provide a qualitative and quantitative basis for the more effective utilization of bamboo. To do this, the morphology of ground parenchyma cells in Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) was studied using light microscopy and field-emission environmental scanning electron microscopy. Results show that various geometric shapes of ground parenchyma cells were observed, including nearly circular, square, long, oval, and irregular shapes. Cell walls of both long and short parenchyma cells exhibited primary wall thickening and secondary wall thickening, resulting in a primary pit field and simple pits. Most long cells were strip-shaped (L/W = 2.52), while most short cells were short and wide (L/W = 0.59). The proportion of long cells was 11 times greater than that of short cells. Most long cells were filled with starch grains, and some short cells also occasionally had starch grains. These findings allowed the first construction of the three-dimensional structure of parenchyma cells.

Summary We describe the first evidence of fossil Abies wood from the late early Miocene fossil plant assemblage of Wiesa in east Germany. The comparatively well-preserved piece of xylitic wood was recovered in the kaolin quarry at Hasenberg hill in Wiesa. The Wiesa assemblage is characterized as being allochthonous and partly parautochthonous mass deposits of diaspores, leaves, and wood. The latter component is rather incompletely studied so far. The described fossil is characterized by high rays, mostly uniseriate bordered pits, generally thick and pitted horizontal and tangential ray cell walls, but also partly smooth horizontal ray cell walls, absence of ray tracheids, the occurrence of traumatic resin canals, and rare occurrence of axial parenchyma of two types. This type of fossil wood has been described as Abietoxylon shakhtnaense Blokhina from the Oligo-Miocene of Sakhalin, Russia. Due to nomenclatural issues of Abietoxylon a recombination to Cedroxylon Kraus emend. Gothan is proposed following common practice for affiliation of abietoid fossil wood of Cenozoic age. Cedroxylon shakhtnaense comb. nov. shares anatomical characteristics with the wood of extant Abies Mill., in particular with sections Abies and Grandis, and is most closely related to section Grandis. The properly preserved fossil wood from Wiesa provides the opportunity of applying qualitative and quantitative analyses for testing and discussing its placement in relationship to intra-tree variability and ontogenetic aspects. The first evidence of fossil wood of Abies from Wiesa confirms again the presence of the genus in mid-latitude subtropical zonal vegetation during the beginning of the Miocene Climatic Optimum.

Abstract Xylem anatomy is fundamental in studies of the evolution of terrestrial plants, tree ecophysiology, forestry, and wood science. Traditional xylem anatomical studies by light microscopy utilize wood sections. However, the procedures are laborious, and high-quality histological sections have been particularly challenging to achieve from recalcitrant wood species and dry wood material. Modern microscopy offers opportunities for speeding up the xylem anatomical preparations. In this regard, the merits of using a sanded surface for wood anatomical research have been largely overlooked. Sanding of wood surfaces is practiced in dendrochronology and wood identification studies exclusively for the investigation of macro features, such as tree rings, wood porosity, or parenchyma patterns. We conducted microscopic level investigations of sanded surfaces of difficult-to-section high-density woods such as Dalbergia and Quercus species by reflected white light and epifluorescence microscopy. Reflected white light or combinations of reflected light and fluorescence could clearly show xylem micro-features in sanded wood surfaces. The resolution of cell types after sanding with 1000-grit was similar to the resolution obtained by transmitted light microscopy in histological slides. The advantages of sanded wood surfaces compared to traditional wood sections can be summarized as cost- and time-effective sample preparation, large sample area, intact cell walls and tissue structure, preservation of chemical content and extractives, and even focus of the field of view. A simple procedure of wood sanding instead of microscopic slides can be used for xylem microscopy and automatic image analysis of xylem structure.

Abstract During the court journey to Edo (Tokyo) in 1826, the famous Japan explorer Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796–1866) met an old and wise mathematician, explorer, and ethnographer, Mogami Tokunai (1755–1836). Tokunai not only allowed Siebold to copy sensitive maps of disputed territories in Northern Japan, but also donated him a set of 45 Japanese wood samples, most of them decorated with paintings of the foliage of the trees from which the wood came, and later provided with interesting notes on their timber uses by the Ainu people in “Jezo” (or Ezo-chi, more or less equivalent with modern Hokkaido). Based mainly on earlier detailed studies by Prof. Takao Yamaguchi and Prof. Nobushige Kato, we will discuss this collection in the context of contemporary and later wood collections and its significance for forest products research in and beyond Japan. Other Japanese wood collections taken to the Netherlands by Siebold were used for the very first Ph.D. studies on wood anatomy in Leiden, and possibly also in Munich. Siebold’s most important disciple Ito Keisuke (or Ito “Keiske”, or “Keisuke Itoh”, 1803–1901) oversaw the decoration of a set of painted wood samples for teaching purposes in Tokyo in the 1880s. From the 1870s onwards, Japan was actively promoting its timber resources at World Expositions in Vienna, Philadelphia, and Paris. In the latter two venues with another special type of wood collection: sections mounted on the pages of a book, possibly inspired by a concept developed by the German forestry scientist Hermann Nördlinger.