Table 1.
Overview of wood anatomical characters summarizing the most important differences between Sambucus and Viburnum
| Distinguishing wood features | Viburnum | Sambucus |
|---|---|---|
| Vessel perforation type | scalariform (often >20 bars) | Simple |
| Vessel element length (µm) | 700–1600 | 300–500 |
| Vessel distribution | Vessels solitary: VGI <1·5 | Vessels grouped: 2 < VGI < 5 |
| Intervessel pits | Opposite, scalariform or a mixture of both | Alternate |
| Vascular tracheids | – | + |
| Imperforate tracheary elements in the ground tissue | Elements with distinctly bordered pits | Elements with simple to minutely bordered pits |
| Axial parenchyma distribution | Diffuse apotracheal or diffuse in aggregates | Scanty paratracheal |
| Number of cells per axial parenchyma strand | Often 5–8 | Often 3 or 4 |
| Vessel-ray pitting | Distinct borders | Reduced borders |
| Number of rows of marginal ray cells per multiseriate ray | Variable: 1–15 | 1 or 2 |
| Multiseriate ray height (µm) | Often 600–2500 | 400–600 |
| Uniseriate ray density (mm−1) | Often 3–10 | 0–2 |
VGI, Vessel Grouping Index.