This study compared the structural anatomy o stem and root wood of Aegiphila sellowiana Cham. (Verbenaceae). The study was conducted on a cerrado area in the town of Pratânia, São Paulo state. Three specimens of A. sellowiana were collected for the study. Stem samples were collected at a breast height (1.30 m from the soil), root samples were collected 30 to 40 cm from the stem base. There were both qualitative and quantitative variation between root and stem wood. Distinct growth rings demarcated were observed in stem and root wood. Simple perforation plates were found in the vessel elements in root and stem wood. Forked fibers, fibers with cavities and interruptions in their wall, and septate fibers were observed in the wood of both organs. Uni-and multiseriate rays were found in the wood of the two organs, one to three cells wide in the stem and one to four cells wide in the root. The relevant quantitative characteristics between root and stem wood in A. sellowiana were: length, diameter and frequency of vessel; fiber wall diameter and thickness; ray width, height and frequency; and intervascular pit diameter.
Fiber; wood; cerrado
