Resin Canal
Definition
An intercellular space lined with secretory epithelial cells that produce resin. Present in many conifers and a small number of hardwoods. In transverse section, resin canals appear as circles with a pale cell-lined rim, distinguishable from pores by the cellular boundary.
- Domain
- Wood anatomy, forensic botany
- Found in
- Many conifers, few hardwoods
- Appearance
- Circle with pale cell-lined rim
- Distinguishes from
- Pores (no cellular lining)
Common questions
How does a resin canal differ from a pore under the microscope?+
A pore is simply an open vessel cross-section, while a resin canal is bordered by a distinct ring of secretory epithelial cells, giving it a pale cellular lining that a plain pore lacks.
Why does resin canal presence help identify a wood sample?+
Because resin canals occur in specific conifer groups and only a small number of hardwoods, their presence or absence narrows the likely species or family during microscopic wood identification.
Related terms
- Diffuse-Porous
- A vessel arrangement in which pores of broadly similar size are distributed throughout the growth ring without a distinct early-wood band of...
- Ray
- A ribbon of cells running radially (outward from the centre) through wood, carrying materials horizontally and storing starch. Ray width (in cell...
- Ring-Porous
- A vessel arrangement in which the early-wood (spring) ring contains conspicuously large vessels and the late-wood contains small ones, creating a sharp...
- Tracheid
- The primary water-conducting and mechanical cell of softwoods (conifers). Elongated, pointed at both ends, and lacking a perforation plate: water passes through...
- Vessel (Pore)
- A series of cells joined end to end with perforation plates dissolved away, forming a continuous water-conducting tube. Characteristic of hardwoods (angiosperms)....