tracheid

American  

[trey-kee-id] / ˈtreɪ ki ɪd /

noun

Botany.

1. an elongated, tapering xylem cell having lignified, pitted, intact walls, adapted for conduction and support.

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tracheid British  

/ trəˈkiːɪdəl, ˈtreɪkɪɪd, ˌtreɪkɪˈaɪdəl /

noun

1. botany an element of xylem tissue consisting of an elongated lignified cell with tapering ends and large pits

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tracheid Scientific  

/ trā′kē-ĭd,-kēd′ /

1. An elongated, water-conducting cell in xylem, one of the two kinds of tracheary elements. Tracheids have pits where the cell wall is modified into a thin membrane, across which water flows from tracheid to tracheid. The cells die when mature, leaving only their lignified cell walls. Tracheids are found in all vascular plants.

2. Compare vessel element

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Other Word Forms

• tracheidal adjective

Etymology

Origin of tracheid

First recorded in 1870–75; trache(a) + -id ³

Example Sentences

Water moves from one tracheid to another through regions on the side walls known as pits, where secondary walls are absent.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Vascular plants, known as tracheophytes, are named after a specialized water-conducting cell, called a tracheid.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2018

Microscopically the white pine can be distinguished by having usually only one large pit, while spruce shows three to five very small pits in the parenchyma cells of the pith ray communicating with the tracheid.

From Wood and Forest by Noyes, William

As a rule buckling of a tracheid begins at the bordered pits which form places of least resistance in the walls.

From The Mechanical Properties of Wood Including a Discussion of the Factors Affecting the Mechanical Properties, and Methods of Timber Testing by Record, Samuel J.

At y, the section has passed through the wall of a tracheid, bearing a row of pits, × 150.

From Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany For High Schools and Elementary College Courses by Campbell, Douglas Houghton