WOOD ANATOMY OF THE DICOTYLEDONS INDIGENOUS TO NEW-ZEALAND .26. RUTACEAE

Wood anatomy of Melicope ternata, M. simplex, and Phebalium nudum is d escribed. In M. simplex and M. ternata vessels have no helical thicken ings, most perforation plates are simple but some are scalariform or r eticulate, grooves connect pit apertures, and vessel to ray pits are s ometimes unilaterally compound. Disjunctive ray and axial parenchyma c ells are present. Melicope simplex is distinguished from M. ternata in having narrower rays, more disjunctive ray cells, and narrower bounda ry bands of axial parenchyma. The vessel elements of P. nudum have hel ical thickenings and simple perforation plates, and lack unilaterally compound pits. Disjunctive axial parenchyma cells are absent and disju nctive ray cells are rare. Boundary axial parenchyma and rays are usua lly only 1-2 cells wide. Vasicentric tracheids are common in P. nudum but rare in M. simplex and M. ternata. Silica bodies occur in the pare nchyma cells of all three species.