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sapwood

[sap-woo d]
noun Botany.
  1. the softer part of the wood between the inner bark and the heartwood.
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Origin of sapwood

First recorded in 1785–95; sap1 + wood1
Also called alburnum.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sapwood

Historical Examples

  • What flows through the "sapwood" is chiefly water brought from the soil.

    Seasoning of Wood

    Joseph B. Wagner

  • There is only about one-quarter inch of sapwood in a 9-inch tree.

    Seasoning of Wood

    Joseph B. Wagner

  • The sapwood was in fine condition and almost as white as snow.

    Seasoning of Wood

    Joseph B. Wagner

  • The sapwood is lighter in color than the heart, and decays more quickly.

    American Forest Trees

    Henry H. Gibson

  • The heartwood is darker than in most oaks, and the sapwood is brown.

    American Forest Trees

    Henry H. Gibson

British Dictionary definitions for sapwood

sapwood

noun
  1. the soft wood, just beneath the bark in tree trunks, that consists of living tissueCompare heartwood
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sapwood in Science

sapwood

[săp′wud′]
  1. The younger layers of new wood produced by the interior side of the vascular cambium within a tree trunk. Sapwood is active in the conduction of water and is usually lighter in color than heartwood.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.