Preliminary Microscopic Observation on the Trunk and Root of Melia azedarach

Abstract

Observations on the tissues in the trunk and root of Melia azedarach have been carried out by scanning electron microscope and optical microscope. Although the trunk of M. azedarach was found to be a ring porous wood, vessels were diffused in tissues of roots. Wood fiber and tracheid in trunk were much longer than those in root. However, ray parenchyma in trunk was much shorter than that in root. In the length of vessel element and narrow vessel element, significant difference were not found between trunk and root. Comparative study revealed that the length and width in vessel element of M. azedarach was equal to those of Z. serrata. The similarity in appearance of those two wood species is perhaps due to this similarity in the size of vessel element. As another characteristics of M. azedarach, two different contents in parenchyma cells were found. One is starch, and the other is assumed to be prismatic crystals of calcium oxalate.