Woody plantA woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposed to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until spring. CharacteristicsWoody plants include trees, shrubs, or lianas. These are usually perennials whose stems and larger roots are reinforced with wood produced from secondary xylem.
TreePerennial woody plant with elongated trunkCommon ash (Fraxinus excelsior), a deciduous broad-leaved (angiosperm) treeEuropean larch (Larix decidua), a coniferous tree which is also deciduousIn botany, a tree is a perennialplant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves.
Composite materialA composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a material with properties unlike the individual elements. Within the finished structure, the individual elements remain separate and distinct, distinguishing composites from mixtures and solid solutions.
CelluloseCellulose is an organic compound with the formula(C6H10O5)n, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linkedD-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the cell walls of green plants, many forms of algae, the oomycetes, and test of sea squirts. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on Earth.
LigninLignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity and do not rot easily. Chemically, lignins are polymers made by the cross-linking of phenolic precursors.
XylemXylem is one of the two types of transport tissue in vascular plants, the other being phloem; both of these are part of the vascular bundle. The basic function of the xylem is to transport water upward from the roots to parts of the plants such as stems and leaves, but it also transports nutrients. EtymologyThe word xylem is derived from the Ancient Greek word (xúlon), meaning "wood"; the best-known xylem tissue is wood, though it is found throughout a plant.
Plant stemA stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, engages in photosynthesis, stores nutrients, and produces new living tissue. The stem can also be called the culm, halm, haulm, stalk, or thyrsus. The woody stem of a tree is known as a trunk.
Natural materialA natural material comes from plants, animals, or the earth, and has not been made by humans. Minerals and the metals that can be extracted from them (without further modification) are also considered to belong into this category. Natural materials are used as building materials and clothing.
LeafA leaf (pl.: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, flower, and fruit collectively form the shoot system.
NutrientA nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excreted by cells to create non-cellular structures such as hair, scales, feathers, or exoskeletons.HemicelluloseA hemicellulose (also known as polyose) is one of a number of heteropolymers (matrix polysaccharides), such as arabinoxylans, present along with cellulose in almost all terrestrial plant cell walls. Cellulose is crystalline, strong, and resistant to hydrolysis. Hemicelluloses are branched, shorter in length than cellulose, and also show a propensity to crystallize. They can be hydrolyzed by dilute acid or base as well as a myriad of hemicellulase enzymes.
Organic matterOrganic matter, organic material or natural organic matter (NOM) is the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have come from the feces and remains of organisms such as plants and animals. Organic molecules can also be made by chemical reactions that do not involve life.
matrixRelated word or term.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.