Early responses of sapwood of Quercus bicolor to mechanical injury
The response of sapwood of swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor Willd.) to mechanical injury was studied over a 28-day period. In cells within 0.5 cm of a wound stimulus, starch grains disappeared and cells were unable to reduce the vital stain, triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC), 8 to 10 days after mechanical injury. Extraneous material and tannins began to accumulate 10 to 12 days after mechanical injury. Nuclei began to disintegrate 12 to 14 days after mechanical injury, but some persisted throughout the period of investigation.With increasing distance from the cambium, starch grains disappeared from ray parenchyma. Cells in the annual rings of sapwood adjacent to the heartwood were unable to reduce TTC. Nuclei were present in all annual rings of sapwood but were lacking in heartwood. Tannins appeared at the heartwood boundary and accumulated in the heartwood.With respect to the criteria used, this investigation indicates that formation of discoloration in sapwood and conversion of sapwood to heartwood appear similar.