CAMBIAL BEHAVIOR WITH REFERENCE TO CELL LENGTH AND RING WIDTH IN THUJA OCCIDENTALIS L.

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Abstract
The relationship between ring width and length of wood cells was studied by reference to mature white cedar trees of various growth patterns. These included trees of similar diameter but diverse growth rates, trees with transition from wide to narrow rings or from narrow to wide rings in their peripheral growth, and trees with rings varying in width in different radii. Although much fluctuation occurred among individuals there was in general an inverse relationship between cell length and ring width. On the other hand, the variations in frequency of pseudotransverse divisions in the cambium, which might be expected to have a profound influence on cell length because of their involvement in cambial cell multiplication, were not obviously related to the growth rate. The frequency of pseudotransverse divisions in the fusiform initials apparently is geared neither to circumferential expansion nor to number of periclinal divisions in the cambium but rather seems to be related simply to linear radial increment.