• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.46-53
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• 1995

The anatomy of Korean diffuse-porous woods, 36 families, 75 genera, 145 species, 215 specimens was described and analyzed. Sixteen wood anatomical characters, habit and phenology factors were determined by simple correlation and principal component analysis. Strong positive correlations were found between vessel element length and fiber length, ray width and ray height, simple pits of fiber wall and paratracheal parenchyma distribution. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) disclose the primitive characteristics and the direction of xylem evolution of Korean diffuse-porous woods. The xylem evolution scenario for Korean dicotyledonous woods is considered to be developed in the direction of decreasing trends of vessel frequency, vessel element length, and length/diameter(L/D) ratio of vessel element but increasing trends of vessel diameter, fiber length/vessel element length(F/V) ratio, libriform wood fibers, simple perforation, and homogeneous ray composition. Increase of vessel diameter and decrease of vessel frequency seem to be related to the improvement of conductive efficiency, and increase of the vessel element length and occurrence of scalariform perforation in vessel element may be related to enhanced of conductive safety. Also the libriform wood fibers and ray features appear to have relationship with mechanical support and nutrient metabolism, respectively.