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sapwood

[ sap-wood ]
/ ˈsæpˌwʊd /
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noun Botany.
the softer part of the wood between the inner bark and the heartwood.

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Also called alburnum.

Origin of sapwood

First recorded in 1785–95; sap1 + wood1

Words nearby sapwood

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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British Dictionary definitions for sapwood

sapwood
/ (ˈsæpˌwʊd) /

noun
the soft wood, just beneath the bark in tree trunks, that consists of living tissueCompare heartwood
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

Scientific definitions for sapwood

sapwood
[ săp′wud′ ]

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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