Trees and other woody plants are immensely ecologically important, making it essential to
understand the causes of relationships between tree structure and function. To help these …

The primary vascular system of plants (the stele) has attracted interest from paleobotanists,
developmental biologists, systematists, and physiologists for nearly two centuries. Ferns …

Potential increases in drought frequency and vapour pressure deficit pose a risk to the future
function of tropical trees. Previous studies have found that taller tropical trees show a …

Droughts of increasing severity and frequency are a primary cause of forest mortality
associated with climate change. Yet, fundamental knowledge gaps regarding the complex …

Results from comparative and ecological wood anatomy combined with a number of
experimental studies on plant hydraulics have led to a pervasive and longstanding …

The widening of xylem vessels from tip to base of trees is an adaptation to minimize the
hydraulic resistance of a long pathway. Given that parallel veins of monocot leaves do not …

Drought‐induced xylem embolism is a primary cause of plant mortality. Although c. 70% of
cycads are threatened by extinction and extant cycads diversified during a period of …

Understanding the drivers of variation in water use of urban trees is essential to estimate
and predict tree survival, health, and provision of ecosystem services now and in the near …

(1) Background: the cambium has seasonal activity, forming earlywood and early phloem
with relatively wide conducting cells, which will function during the most favorable season …

Wood is the water conducting tissue of tree stems. Like most angiosperm trees, poplar wood
contains water-conducting vessel elements whose functional properties affect water …