Archaeobotany - Anatomical Features

WOOD CHARCOAL : ANATOMICAL FEATURES

Homoxylous wood (Gymnosperm)

Transverse section (TS)

Are there resin canals?
Are there traumatic resin canals

Tangential section (TLS)

What is the general height of the rays?
Are there any resin canals visible (if not found in TS)?

Radial section (RLS)

Are there spiral thickenings?
What is the type of the cross-fields pits?
How are the tracheid pits?
Is there any other particular cell?

resin canals.

Piceoid cross-field pits. Pits characterised by a narrow hole, almond-liked shaped.

Pinoid cross-field pits. Pits very large, occupying the totality of the cross-field cell.

Cupressoid and taxodioid cross-field pits. Pits rounded, differentiating by an aperture bigger (cupressoid) or smaller (taxodioid) than the border of the pit.

Heteroxylous wood (Angiosperm)

Transverse section (TS)

What is the porosity of the wood?
What is the distribution or the pattern of the vessels?
What is the distribution of the parenchyma?
Are there aggregate rays?

Tangential section (TLS)

What is the general width of the rays?
Are the rays and/or parenchyma storied?
Are there spiral thickenings?

Radial section (RLS)

Are the rays homogeneous or heterogeneous?
Are the perforation plates simple or scalariform?
What is the type of the fibres?
How are the vessels pits?

Ring porous. Vessels bigger in early wood than in late wood.

Semi-ring porous wood. Vessels slighly bigger and numerous in early wood than in late wood.

Diffuse porous wood. Vessels of the same size in early and late wood. Also same density of vessels in early and late wood.

Flame-liked distribution. Vessels are organised in bands drawing a flame-liked pattern in the late wood.

Oblique distribution. Vessels are organised in diagonal bands.

Radial distribution. Vessels are organised in bands parallel to the rays.

Tangential bands. Vessels (in the late wood) are organised in bands perpendicular to the rays.

Apotracheal parenchyma banded. Parenchyma cells are organised in bands in the wood.

Apotracheal parenchyma diffuse. Parenchyma cells solitary in the wood.

Paratracheal parenchyma. Parenchyma cells are around the vessels (whole or partially).

Aggregate rays.

Biseriate rays. Rays are two cells wide.

Triseriate rays. Rays are three cells wide.

Multiseriate rays. Rays are more than 5 cells wide.

Uniseriate rays. Rays are one cell wide.

Uniseriate and multiseriate rays. Two types of rays are present: uniseriate rays and multiseriate rays.

Spiral thickenings.

Perforation plate scalariform. Perforation plate is filled by a 'scale'.

Perforation plate simple. Perforation plate is empty and appears as a hole.

Report abuse