Comparison Category

Gymnosperms Angiosperms

Wood Type Softwood Hardwood

Example Species

Conifers, Jack Pine, Spruce, Cedar. Deciduous, Oak, Maple, Birch.

Dominant Cell Type

Tracheids are long w/ thick cell wall, connected to other tracheids by bordered pits (w/ Torus). Tracheids have closed ends, with primary and secondary walls. Earlywood tracheids are dead and transport water. Latewood tracheids are living and function for strength.

Vessel Elements (pores), are short, has open ends, and are joined end to end by perforation plates. Vessels are connected via bordered pits (w/ NO torus). Vessels can be associated with axial parenchyma cells (Paratracheal). Only Paratracheal vesses can form tyloses (parenchyma expands into the vessel). Fibres are short and thick walled and used only for structural support.

Other Cells Rays are composed of ray parenchyma and ray tracheids. Always uniseriate. Ray cells – tracheid contact connected by Cross-Field Pits. Ray cell – Ray Cell contact joined by Simple Pits. Resin ducts composed of epithelial cells.

Rays are uniseriate, bi or multiseriate and are used only for food storage. Longitudinal parenchyma for food storage.NO Resin Ducts.

Porous No Yes, can be Ring-porous (abrupt transition from large earlywood vessels, to small latewood vessels), Diffuse-porous (constant vessel size in late and early wood), and Semi-ring-porous (continuous decrease in vessel size from early to latewood).

Reaction Wood

Compression Wood – forms dense wood, with shorter, rounder, thicker walled tracheids on underside of the lean, pushes the pith towards the topside of the lean. Are high in lignin, low in cellulose. Compression wood has no S3 secondary layer, but has S2 grooves.

Tension Wood – produces less vessels, more fibres, high cellulose, low lignin. Produces a G-layer of fibers that shrink pulling the stem up.