• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.3-18
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• 1985

In Korea, a study on the anatomical features of pitch pine (pinus rigida Miller) branch wood through photo-microscopical method was reported in 1972 by Lee. Therefore, as a further study of Lee's on the anatomical features in branch wood of pinus rigida miller that grows in Korea, compression wood, opposite wood, and side wood were selected and treated for the purpose of comparing their structures revealed on cross and radial surface through scanning electron microscope in this study. The obtained results in this study were summarized as follows; 1. The trachied transition from earlywood to late wood is very gradual and the tracheids are nearly regular in both arrangement and size in compression wood but this transition in opposite wood and side wood is abrupt and the tracheids in opposite wood and side wood are less regular than those in compression wood. Also, the annual ring width of opposite wood is narrower than that of compression wood or side wood and the rays revealed on cross surface of side wood are more distinct than compression wood and opposite wood rays. 2. The tracheids of compression wood show roundish trends especially in earlywood but those of opposite wood and side wood show some angular trends. And intercellular space, helical cavity, and spiral check are present in both earlywood and latewood of compression wood but not present in opposite wood and side wood irrespective of earlywood and latewood. 3. The wall thickness of latewood tracheid is similar to that of earlywood tracheid in compression wood whereas the wall thickness of latewood tracheid is by far thicker than that of earlywood tracheid in opposite wood and side wood and the S3 layer of secondary wall is lack in compression wood tracheid unlike opposite wood and side wood tracheid. 4. The tracheids in compression wood are often distorted at their tips unlike those in opposite wood and side wood and the bordered pit in compression wood tracheid is located at the bottom of helical groove unlike that in opposite wood and side wood tracheid. 5. The bordered pits in radial wall of opposite wood and side wood tracheids are oval in shape but those of compression wood tracheids show some modified oval shape. 6. In earlywood of side wood, the small apertures of cross-field pits are roundish triangle to rectangle and the large one are fenestriform through the coalition of two small ones. However, the small apertures of cross-field pits are upright oval and the large ones are procumbent oval shape in earlywood of opposite wood and the apertures of cross-field pits in compression wood are tilted bifacial convex lens shape in earlywood and slit in late wood because of the border on tracheid side.