Wood anatomy of Holmskioldia sanguinea Retz. and its adaptive and ecological significance

Wood anatomy of Holmskioldia sanguinea Retz. and its adaptive and ecological significance

Wood anatomy of Holmskioldia sanguinea Retz. has been done to study the structural variations in stem and root wood and to correlate them with growth habit and ecology of the plant. Vessels are wider and more abundant while rays (uni- to triserate) are taller in stem wood than in root wood, which possesses broad multiseriate rays. Simple perforation plate, sparse vasicentric paratracheal parenchyma and perforated ray cells are the features common in both stem and root woods, while helical thickenings have been recorded only in the stem wood. Lower value of vulnerability, presence of wider vessels with simple perforation plate, and presence of helical thickening are indicators of wood xeromorphy in Holmskioldia sanguinea. Features like wider vessels and extensive height of rays in stem wood are in consonance with the climbing nature of the stem axis.