Lecture 3:

Softwood & Hardwood

• General characteristic
• Type and functions of cells
• The distinct between hardwood and
softwood xylem

Lecture by : Dr. Paiman Bawon

Faculty of Forestry
UPM
Lecture note : Courtesy of Edi S. Bakar, PhD. 2009
 Softwood

General characteristic of
softwoods:
 homogeneous straight-grained
preferred for construction
 lightweight lumber & plywood

 tall, straight-stem used for poles and pilings

 have long fibers raw material of strong papers
 simple xylem structure (not more than 5 kinds of
wood cells)
 tend to be similar in appearance
 The majority (90-95%) are tracheids
 Softwood

a. Longitudinal tracheids:
 the great majority of softwood volume, 90-95% composed of
long slender cells called longitudinal tracheids
 longitudinal tracheids are about 100x greater in length than in
diameter and are rectangular in cross section
 tracheids have hollow centers (lumens) but are closed at the
ends
 their shape is blunt or rounded radially and pointed
tangentially

the pits in tracheids (at the radial cell wall) are normally bordered pits
the tracheid is much smaller: averaging 25-45 μm in diameter, 3-4
mm in length
 Softwood

Earlywood and latewood:

 The cells formed early in a growing season
(earlywood) differ from those formed later in
the year (latewood).
 Earlywood  large diameter, thin walled
 Latewood  small diameter, thick walled
 The abrupt change from earlywood to latewood is
characteristic of only some softwood species such
as the hard pines, larch, and Douglas-fir. In other
species, the transition in wall thickness and radial
diameter progresses gradually from earlywood to
latewood.
The characteristic of earlywood-latewood change
assists in the identification of softwoods
 Softwood

Pits:
 Softwoods are characterized with bordered pits
which is found at the radial cell walls
 Bordered pit has a thickened central torus
surrounded by a microfibrillar network known as
the margo.
 The bordered pit membrane  source of several
use-related problems:

 the membrane can block the aperture, known as aspirated pits

 as aspirated pits is resistant to penetration by protective chemicals, they
result in both drying and treating difficulties.
 such wood is difficult to preserve and slowly to dry
 Softwood

 In some softwoods species (fir, hemlock) only one kind of longitudinally cell
present  longitudinal tracheid.
 In other species (cedars, redwood, pine), other kinds of longitudinal cells
are also present at minor portion of the volume  longitudinal
parenchyma, resin canals.

b. Longitudinal Parenchyma:
 amount to 1-2% of the volume
 [mature] have the same general shape as longitudinal tracheids and thin-
walled.
 Softwood

c. Resin canals:
 a resin canal is an intercellular space surrounded by specialized parenchyma cells
that secrete resin into the canal.
 play an important role in the healing of damaged tissue and in repelling attack by
insects or other invaders
 resin canals are found in certain softwood species (pines, spruce, larch, and
douglas-fir).
 longitudinal resin canals are always accompanied by horizontal canals.
 the presence or absence of resin canals can be used in wood identification
 resin canals are also produced in response to injury or other traumatic events 
called traumatic resin canals
 traumatic resin canals occur in almost any of the softwoods
 traumatic canals rarely occur in both longitudinal and radial orientation in the same
piece of wood. ( see Resin Canals)
 Softwood
Rays:
Softwoods are characterize by uniformly narrow
rays
eids [tangentially] consist of one to many cells in
t rach ma
Ray
p are n
chy height, and usually one cell width (uniseriate). If
Ray
two cells in width  biseriate
rays cells may compose of ray parenchyma or
ray tracheids
 ray tracheids have thick cell walls with bordered
pits while ray parenchyma have thin cell walls
al
can
Res
in  a ray may be composed entirely of parenchyma,
entirely of tracheids, or of both ray parenchyma
and ray tracheids
 rays that are constructed entirely of ray
parenchyma or ray tracheids are termed
homogeneous. Those that contain both ray
tracheids and ray parenchyma are called
heterogeneous ray.
when a ray contains a resin canal, it is
known as a fusiform ray
 Hardwood

 Hardwood and softwood trees not only differ in external appearance, but the
wood formed by them differs structurally or morphologically
 The types of cells, their relative numbers, and their arrangement are different
 The fundamental difference  hardwoods contain a type of cell called a vessel
element, but softwoods very seldom contain it. ( Hardwood-Softwood)
 All hardwoods do not, incidentally, produce hard, dense wood.
Many softwoods produce wood that is harder and denser than wood produced by
some hardwoods
 Hardwood species predominate
 They are found in most areas of the world
 Tropical forests are almost exclusively hardwoods
 Hardwood growing stock has been estimated to exist in volumes almost double that
of softwoods.
 From more than 10,000 the number of tree species throughout the world, the
number of softwoods is only about 500
 Hardwood

 The wood formed by hardwoods is much different than that produced by

softwoods.
 Softwoods  composed of a few cell types with a uniform arrangement  without
a distinctive appearance.
 Hardwoods  composed of widely varying kinds of cells of complex arrangements
 often uniquely and spectacularly figured
Because of unique figured appearances, hardwood species are widely used for
furniture, paneling, and other decorative purposes.
 Hardwood
Differences between hardwood and softwood xylem
 Softwoods are composed of a few significant cell types, hardwoods of many.
 Long cells known as longitudinal tracheids compose 90-95% of the volume of
softwoods.
 Ray cells (ray tracheids and ray parenchyma) constitute the remainder of softwood
xylem.
Hardwoods are composed of at least 4 major kinds of cells; each may constitute
15% or more of the volume of hardwood xylem.

Cell type Proportion (%)

Fiber tracheids 15-60
See also type of
Vessel element 20-60 longitudinal cells
Longitudinal parenchyma 0-15
Ray parenchyma 5-30
 Hardwood
Differences between hardwood and softwood xylem

 Hardwoods contain vessel in significant volume, but never in softwood

 Vessels is a structure composed of vessel elements with the function as conducting
cells
 hardwoods are characterized with the wide rays, but softwoods with the
uniformly narrow rays
[tangential] Softwood rays are made of one cell in width (compose about 5-7% of volume). Hardwood
rays range in width from 1-30 cells (constitute more than 30% of the volume). The average is around
17%.
 Straight radial rows of cells characterize softwoods; they are not found in
hardwoods ( cells arrangement)
 Softwood cells are aligned in straight radial rows in parallel, with straight spokelike rays.
Each row of cells is formed by a single fusiform initial in the cambium.
 Hardwood rays are not aligned in straight radial rows, nor are other hardwood elements.
Distortion occurs in the vicinity of vessel elements
 Hardwood
Vessel Elements

 Vessel elements are the fundamental anatomical difference of

hardwoods with the softwood. This cell type is found in virtually
all hardwoods.
 Vessel elements are much larger in diameter than other types of
longitudinal cells.
 Vessel elements are shorter than hardwood and softwood fibers
but larger in diameter.
 Normally, a number of vessel elements link end-to-end along the
grain to form long tubelike structures known as vessels.
 Grows of the vessel cells diameter affect the rays pattern
 Immediately after formation, all longitudinal cells are quite similar in size
and shape. During the maturation process cells begin to change. The vessel
cells begin marked diameter growth, while other cells expand little. This
Vessel
pushes cells out of radial alignment and makes meandering ray pattern.
 Hardwood
Vessel Arrangement
Vessels often appear as holes in cross section  referred as pores
 Both size and arrangement of pores are used to classify hardwoods for
purposes of identification.
 There are 2 type of vessel arrangements: ring porous, diffuse porous
 If vessels of large diameter are concentrated in the
earlywood with vessels of much smaller diameter in the
latewood  called ring porous
 If pores of uniform size distributed evenly across the
growth ring classified as diffuse porous
 The majority of hardwoods are diffuse porous.
Some of the most valuable woods such as oak (Quercus
spp.), ash (Fraxinus spp.), pecan (Carya illinoensis), and
teak (Tectona grandis) are ring porous.

3 type of vessel group arrangements: a) radial groups,

b) tangential groups, and c) clustered ( vessels’ group arrangements)
 Hardwood
End-to-end connection of vessel elements
 Vessels are uniquely suited to serve as avenues of conduction.
 End walls of longitudinally linked vessel elements are perforated by
unrestricted holes  perforation plates.
 There are 3 patterns of vessel perforation plates:
 Simple perforation
 Scalariform perforation
 Foraminate perforation
 The nature of vessel perforations is often
useful as an aid in the identification of
hardwood timbers.
 Perforation plates invariably slope at an
angle toward the radial. This surface should
be examined microscopically to determine
the type of perforation.
 Hardwood
Side-to-side connection of vessels
 Lateral communication from vessel to vessel is provided by numerous pairs of
bordered pits. Intervessel pitting are:
 Alternate pitting
 Opposite pitting See vessels pitting
 Scalariform pitting
 The shape and arrangement of vessel-to-vessel pitting can be of assistance in
wood identification.
Tyloses
 Tyloses are outgrowths of parenchyma cells into the hollow lumens of vessels.
 They form during the transition from sapwood to heartwood and may also develop as a
result of injury, infection from fungi or bacteria, or drought.
 Tyloses are partially or completely block the vessels, a situation that can be either
detrimental or beneficial.
[detrimental]  difficult to dry or to impregnate with preventive/stabilizing chemicals
[benefit]  suitable and preferred for manufacture of whiskey barrels
 Hardwood
Fiber tracheids
 Fibers or fiber tracheids are long, tapered, and thick-walled
cells of hardwood xylem.
 Fibers have a great similarity to the longitudinal tracheids of
softwoods, but with several significant differences:
 The softwood tracheids average 3-4 mm in length; hardwood
fibers have an average length of less than 1 mm.
 Softwoods are preferred for paper manufacture.
 [Cross section] Fibers tend to be rounded while tracheids
nearly rectangular ( softwood vs hardwood cells).
 Fibers are very thick walled and have bordered pits with less
borders than softwood tracheids.
 The function of the fiber is more specialized for mechanical
support; most conduction occurs through the vessels. While
tracheids serve as avenues of conduction and as supporting
elements. ( type of longitudinal cells).
 Hardwood
Longitudinal parenchyma
 Parenchyma cells are thin-walled storage units that have no secondary wall.
 In hardwoods, parenchyma cells occur in three forms
 long, tapered longitudinal cells
 short, brick-shaped epithelium around gum canals
 ray cells.
 Longitudinal parenchyma is rare in softwood species, but is often in
hardwoods.
 Certain hardwoods contain longitudinal parenchyma up to 24% of volume, and
may exceed 50% for a few tropical hardwoods.
 parenchyma is arranged into definite patterns ( parenchyma configuration):
- apotracheal p.  parenchyma lay independent from the vessels
- paratracheal p.  parenchyma associated with the vessels
- banded p.  parenchyma bands tangentially
 longitudinal parenchyma arrangement  aid for hardwood identification.
 Hardwood
Rays
 Hardwood rays range in width tangentially from 1-30 or more cells, compare
to only one or two cells in width softwood.
 Hardwoods characterized by very large rays, exhibit distinctive ray patterns on
tangential and radial faces.
often add to a wood's aesthetic appeal. ( aesthetic rays)
 Not all hardwoods exhibit wide rays.
aspen (Populus tremuloides) or cottonwood (Populus deltoides) have the uniseriate
type rays  lack of visible ray pattern.
 All ray cells are of the parenchyma type. The ray parenchyma cells of
hardwoods are rectangular.
Longitudinal cells and ray cells
in hardwood and softwood
Normal resin canals Traumatic resin canals
Structure of Hardwood Structure of softwood
 Cells Type Soft- Hard- Cell Wall
wood wood Functions thickness
Parenchyma   Storage

Tracheids   Support,
conduction
Fibers  Support

Vessels (pores)  Conduction

 HARDWOOD SOFTWOOD

rays

meandering rays straight rays

Radial arrangement Tangential arr. Clustered arr.
Softwood Hardwood
Rays