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A ray appears diagonally, from top left to bottom middle. Medullary rays, also known as vascular rays or pith rays, are cellular structures found in some species of wood. They appear as radial planar structures, perpendicular to the growth rings, which are visible to the naked eye.
Pith is composed of soft, spongy parenchyma cells, which in some cases can store starch. In eudicotyledons, pith is located in the center of the stem. In monocotyledons, it extends only into roots. [1] The pith is encircled by a ring of xylem; the xylem, in turn, is encircled by a ring of phloem.
Parenchyma forms the "filler" tissue in the soft parts of plants, and is usually present in cortex, pericycle, pith, and medullary rays in primary stem and root. Collenchyma cells have thin primary walls with some areas of secondary thickening. Collenchyma provides extra mechanical and structural support, particularly in regions of new growth.
During secondary growth, cells of medullary rays, in a line (as seen in section; in three dimensions, it is a sheet) between neighbouring vascular bundles, become meristematic and form new interfascicular cambium (between vascular bundles).
In a vascular plant, the stele is the central part of the root or stem [1] containing the tissues derived from the procambium. These include vascular tissue, in some cases ground tissue and a pericycle, which, if present, defines the outermost boundary of the stele.
Initiation of gall formation is through exogenous stimulation of the cambium and pith rays, causing an increased production of ray parenchyma. The host reacts by hyperplasia (increased division) providing the resources needed for further hyphae proliferation in the cortex, phloem, and cambium until the galls death.
In radial section, two tracheids of a coniferous wood species are shown. A series of bordered pits are also appearing in each tracheid. A tracheid of oak shows pits along the walls.
This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary of leaf morphology.