Abstract

The Indian hardwoods from Kerala that were studied were Tectona grandis, Lagerstroemia microcarpa, Anacardium occidentale, Dillenia pentagyna, Dipterocarpus indicus, Erythrina stricta, Grewia tiliifolia, Hevea brasiliensis, Stereospermum chelonoides, Terminalia paniculata and Xylia xylocarpa. Branch fibres were significantly shorter than stem fibres. A. occidentale had the shortest fibres (900 µm), D. pentagyna the longest (1600 µm) . The most common pattern of radial variation was an initial increase in fibre length which reached a max. and then decreased towards the barkhowever, this pattern often differed between species and between levels within a tree (stump ht., 50 of tree ht. and 75 of tree ht.) In branches, fibre length increased more or less linearly from the pith to the bark, which indicates juvenile growth. In the axial direction, mean fibre length decreased from the base of the stem or branch to 50 and 75 of the length