Mechanisms and variation in plant development: sorting the wood from the trees in Vermont

Plants grow throughout their lives; this is called indeterminate growth, and it distinguishes plants from most animals. Although certain parts of plants stop growing (e.g., leaves and flowers), others grow continuously—like roots and stems.

Wood, derived from trees, is a versatile and widely used construction material. Trees feature a trunk surrounded by a protective layer of dead bark. Beneath this outer layer lies the living bark, followed by the cambium, and then the sapwood which transitions into heartwood as it matures. At the center of the trunk is the pith. The age of a tree can be discerned by examining its growth rings, which are concentric bands visible in the trunk's cross-section.
The structural integrity of the wood...

Lumber is derived from logs which are harvested, debarked, and processed into long pieces with a rectangular cross-section. The transformation of logs into lumber involves multiple steps, beginning with an automated saw that slices the log into slabs. These slabs are then transported via a conveyor belt to smaller saws, where they are cut into square-edged pieces of specific widths.
Initially, the surfaces of these lumber pieces are rough, and their dimensions may vary slightly from one end to...

Wood's structural properties derive from fibers aligned along the tree's length, contributing significantly to its mechanical strength. Wood exhibits up to twenty times greater tensile strength along these fibers compared to across them, and generally shows better performance under compression than tension. The length of fibers varies, with hardwoods having fibers around one twenty-fifth inch long and softwoods ranging from one-eighth to one-third inch.
The strength characteristics of wood are...

Softwoods and hardwoods, derived from different types of trees, are distinguished by their leaf structures and cellular compositions, each serving unique purposes in construction and manufacturing. Softwoods come from cone-bearing trees with needle-like leaves and are predominantly composed of longitudinal cells called tracheids and a smaller proportion of radial cells known as rays. Due to their cellular structure, softwoods are commonly used in construction for structural frames, sheathing,...

Lumber defects, which can affect both the appearance and structural integrity of wood, include a variety of growth and manufacturing flaws. Growth defects such as knots and knotholes occur where branches were once attached to the tree trunk, with knotholes forming when these knots fall out. Other natural defects include decay and insect damage, which compromise the wood's strength and durability.
Shakes are minor fractures that run along or across the wood's annual rings, while wane is...