ONLINE IMAGE COLLECTION
 | | Image Title: A light micrograph of a transverse section of fossil Metasequoia wood | | Image Credit: George A. Visscher, University of Maine, | | AJB Editor: Judy Jernstedt, University of California - Davis | | Intended End User: Teacher, Student | | Copyright held by: Visscher, BSA | | For Larger Version (click here) | About the Image | A light micrograph of a transverse section of fossil Metasequoia wood collected from Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canadian High Arctic, at 80°N latitude. This tree grew approximately 45 million years ago in what is believed to have been a warm temperate swamp. Except for some cell distortion due to loss of cellulose and burial under sediments, the excellent preservation reveals the same uniform wood structure found in extant M. glyptostroboides-a wood structure particularly well-adapted for tall conifers growing in uniformly moist areas.
Link to
the AJB Abstract for the article:
A synchronous increase in hydraulic conductive capacity and mechanical support
in conifers with relatively uniform xylem structure
by Richard Jagels and George E Visscher |
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Development Supported by the National Science Foundation
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