Question

The wood produced by gymnosperms is commercially known as

• A. hardwood
• B. sapwood
• C. logwood
• D. softwood

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

softwood

Wood is secondary xylem consisting largely of dead cells involved in the transport of water and minerals as well as support. Plants grow in length because of the elongation of cells produced by terminal (apical) meristem. Most of the cells formed by meristems mature to form epidermis, general matrix tissue (parenchyma), and primary xylem and phloem. In herbaceous plants all of the vascular tissue is produced by apical meristems. In plants that subsequently become woody, a cambium layer forms between the primary xylem and phloem cells. The cambium is a lateral (expanding in width) meristem, capable of dividing to produce additional xylem toward the inside of the stem and additional phloem to the outside. Gymnosperms (softwood) are composed primarily of tracheids, long cells that conduct water primarily through openings in their side walls. Gymnosperms contain fewer kinds of cells than does angiosperm wood, and tends to be comparatively uniform.

So the correct option is 'softwood'.