late wood

American  

noun

1. summerwood.

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late wood Scientific  

1. The part of the wood in a growth ring of a tree that is produced later in the growing season. The cells of late wood are smaller and have thicker cell walls than those produced earlier in the season. Within a growth ring, the change of early wood to late wood is gradual, but each layer of early wood from the next growing season makes an abrupt contrast with the late wood before it, thus leading to the perception of rings.

2. Compare early wood

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Etymology

Origin of late wood

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Of other wood-characters, the presence or absence of tangential pits in the tracheids of the late wood establishes a distinction between Soft and Hard Pines.

From Project Gutenberg

Moderate contrast between early and late wood.

From Project Gutenberg

These two portions, known as early wood or spring wood, and late wood or summer wood, together make up one year’s growth and are for that reason called annual rings.

From Project Gutenberg

If the wood of hickory, for example, be examined with the magnifying lens, it will be seen that there are numerous small pores in the late wood, while running parallel with the annual rings are little white lines such as are shown in Fig.

From Project Gutenberg

If pores appear, their arrangement, both in the early wood and in the late wood, should be carefully noted; also whether the pores are open or filled with a froth-like substance known as tyloses.

From Project Gutenberg