WOOD AND CHARCOAL ANATOMY OF FOUR MYRTACEAE SPECIES

Abstract

Anatomical characteristics of wood and charcoal from Campomanesia xanthocarpa, Eugenia pyriformis, Myrcia retorta and Plinia peruviana were described. The material came from Planalto Catarinense region, southern Brazil. For each species, three discs at diameter at breast height were collected from three randomly selected trees. All the disks were sectioned to obtain samples in different positions of the trunk (bark, intermediate and pith). The macroscopic analysis of the wood was done and samples were wrapped in aluminum foil and carbonized in a muffle furnace, with a final temperature of 450 °C and a heating rate of 1.66 °C min^-1. It was observed that the vessel diameters decrease, while the vessel frequency increased for all species at different positions after the carbonization process. In general, height and width of the rays showed reduction. However, Myrcia retorta presented different behavior, after carbonization the values ​​increased. In addition, it was possible to verify that the anatomical characteristics of the wood and charcoal are compatible, so, for the evaluated species it is possible the identification of the charcoal based on the anatomical structures of the wood.