Dictionary MAIN PAGE Text & Grap

Wood Cells - Cells are the basic unit of life. There are three basic types of wood cells: transport cells - vessels, tracheids -mechanical support cells -fibers, fiber tracheids -, and cells that contain living substances for a few to many years -parenchyma, axial and radial. All wood cells are born alive. Wood cells are arranged in ways that support the tree as a biological and mechanical system. Many processes and parts of human cells are not so different from those in trees. Yet, animal cells have thin boundaries. Tree wood cells have thick, tough boundaries or walls. Animal tissue will not support itself. Animals require skin and bones to keep cells in place. Every splinter of wood is self supporting. Cell walls of wood are made of cellulose, lignin, and hemicelluloses. Thin boundaries of animal cells allow them to move. Animals move away from agents and situations that threaten their survival. Trees cannot move. Trees grow where they find themselves, adapt or die. Trees planted incorrectly are sentences to an early death.