Climate trends in the wood anatomy of Acacia sensu stricto (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae).

Background And Aims: This study investigates the structural diversity of the secondary xylem of 54 species of Acacia from four taxonomic sections collected across five climate regions along a 1200 km E-W transect from sub-tropical [approx. 1400 mm mean annual precipitation (MAP)] to arid (approx. 240 mm MAP) in New South Wales, Australia.

A broad survey of hydraulic and mechanical safety in the xylem of conifers.

Drought-induced forest dieback has been widely reported over the last decades, and the evidence for a direct causal link between survival and hydraulic failure (xylem cavitation) is now well known. Because vulnerability to cavitation is intimately linked to the anatomy of the xylem, the main objective of this study was to better understand the xylem anatomical properties associated with cavitation resistance. An extensive data set of cavitation resistance traits and xylem anatomical properties was developed for 115 conifer species, with special attention given to the micro-morphology of bordered pits.

Dalnigrin, a neoflavonoid marker for the identification of Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) in CITES enforcement.

International trade in Brazilian rosewood, Dalbergia nigra (Vell.) Allemão ex Benth., is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Wood identification of Dalbergia nigra (CITES Appendix I) using quantitative wood anatomy, principal components analysis and naive Bayes classification.

Background And Aims: Dalbergia nigra is one of the most valuable timber species of its genus, having been traded for over 300 years. Due to over-exploitation it is facing extinction and trade has been banned under CITES Appendix I since 1992. Current methods, primarily comparative wood anatomy, are inadequate for conclusive species identification.

Variation in xylem structure from tropics to tundra: evidence from vestured pits.

Bordered pits play an important role in permitting water flow among adjacent tracheary elements in flowering plants. Variation in the bordered pit structure is suggested to be adaptive in optimally balancing the conflict between hydraulic efficiency (conductivity) and safety from air entry at the pit membrane (air seeding). The possible function of vestured pits, which are bordered pits with protuberances from the secondary cell wall of the pit chamber, could be increased hydraulic resistance or minimized vulnerability to air seeding.

Comparative wood anatomy of epacrids (Styphelioideae, Ericaceae s.L.).

The wood anatomy of 16 of the 37 genera within the epacrids (Styphelioideae, Ericaceae s.l.) is investigated by light and scanning electron microscopy.