Table 2. Chemical composition of lower wood in mature individuals of thirteen species of Cactaceae.
| Species | Category by size | Wood type | Extractives | Lignin | Cellulose | Hemicelluloses | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | Syringyl | Guaiacyl | Ratio S/G | % | % | ||||
| Ariocarpus retusus | Small | WBT | 39.4 | 13.7 | 52 | 48 | 1.1 | 31 | 15.9 |
| Coryphantha clavata | Small | WBT | 22.7 | 14.2 | 80 | 20 | 3.9 | 41.7 | 21.4 |
| Echynocactus platyacanthus * | Medium | Dimorphic | 15.7 | 51.8 | 40 | 60 | 0.7 | 22 | 10.5 |
| Ferocactus hamatacanthus | Medium | Dimorphic | 28.6 | 54.4 | 92 | 8 | 11.7 | 12.2 | 4.8 |
| Ferocactus pilosus* | Medium | Dimorphic | 24.2 | 49.8 | 78 | 22 | 3.5 | 17.4 | 8.6 |
| Cylindropuntia imbricata | Tall | Fibrous | 12.4 | 51.3 | 30 | 70 | 0.4 | 23.8 | 12.6 |
| Lophocereus marginatus | Tall | Fibrous | 11.1 | 49.9 | 51 | 49 | 1.1 | 25.5 | 13.5 |
| Myrtillocactus geometrizans | Tall | Fibrous | 11.6 | 56.3 | 38 | 62 | 0.6 | 21 | 11.1 |
| Opuntia streptacantha | Tall | Fibrous | 28 | 45.1 | 53 | 47 | 1.1 | 17.6 | 9.3 |
| Pereskia lychnidiflora | Tall | Fibrous | 11.4 | 36 | 48 | 52 | 0.9 | 34.4 | 18.2 |
| Pilosocereus alensis | Tall | Fibrous | 20.6 | 53.1 | 57 | 43 | 1.3 | 17.2 | 9.1 |
| Pilosocereus chrysacanthus | Tall | Fibrous | 7.7 | 56.8 | 30 | 70 | 0.4 | 23.2 | 12.3 |
| Stenocereus dumortieri | Tall | Fibrous | 24.6 | 39.4 | 25 | 75 | 0.3 | 23.6 | 12.5 |
The contents are reported in the total dry weight percent (% w/w). The standard deviation in each case was less than 10% on average.
(S1 Table, S3 Dataset. Supporting information for the S/G ratios)
* Species where the content of lignin in the lower wood was different between adult individuals, the difference in the lignin content in adults of F. pilosus was ≈ 19% and in E. platyacanthus was ≈ 23%, the other components of the wood vary proportionately. Moreover, in these dimorphic species occurs a change from WBTs wood in juvenile stages to fibrous wood in the mature ones.