Question

Outer lighter coloured region of wood is

• A. Autumn wood
• B. Spring wood
• C. Heart wood
• D. Sap wood

Answer 1

The correct option is D Sap wood

Sapwood is also called as 'alburnum'. It is outer, living layers of the secondary wood of trees, which engage in transport of water and minerals to the crown of the tree. The cells therefore contain more water and lack the deposits of darkly staining chemical substances commonly found in heartwood. Sapwood is thus paler and softer than heartwood and can usually be distinguished in cross sections, as in tree stumps, although the proportions and distinctness of the two types are variable in different species.

Heartwood is also called as 'duramen'. It is dead, central wood of trees. Its cells usually contain tannins or other substances that make it dark in colour and sometimes aromatic. Heartwood is mechanically strong, resistant to decay, and less easily penetrated by wood-preservative chemicals than other types of wood. Spring wood or early wood is formed during spring season.