Introduction:

The cellular characteristics of wood determine the conditions of processing and use of forest species

Objective:

To study the variation of the anatomical characteristics in the internal and external part of the heartwood of Tectona grandis L. f. with different ages and origins.

Materials and methods:

Trees from Campeche (9 and 15 years old), Tabasco (15 years old) and Chiapas (21 years old) were selected. Cuttings (10 and 20 μm thick) of the anatomical faces (transversal, radial and tangential) of the wood were made and were observed using a clear field microscope. The images were captured with Matrox PC-VCR version 02.10.10. The cellular elements were measured using the ArcView GIS 3.2.

Results and discussion:

Teak wood had 6 to 8 vessels·mm-². Wood (9 and 15 years old) from Campeche had the largest vessels diameter on the inside and outside of the heartwood; in its internal part, it had the largest ray width. In both parts of the heartwood, 9-year-old-wood from Campeche had higher ray height; 21-year-old wood from Chiapas had greater length and diameter of fibers; and 15-year-old wood from Tabasco produced the largest wall thickness of fibers.

Conclusions:

Age and origin affect the cellular structure of teak wood.

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