InsideWood is an online resource and database for wood anatomy, serving as a reference, research, and teaching tool. Wood anatomy is a sub-area within the discipline of wood science.[1][2] This freely accessible database is purely scientific and noncommercial. It was actually created by several international researchers, members of the IAWA, mostly botanists, biologists and wood scientists.[3]

Contents

The database contains categorized anatomical descriptions of wood based on the IAWA List of Microscopic Features for Hardwood and Softwood Identification, complemented by a comprehensive set of photomicrographs. As of November 2023, the database contained thousands of wood anatomical descriptions and nearly 66,000 photomicrographs of contemporary woods, along with more than 1,600 descriptions and 2,000 images of fossil woods. Its coverage is worldwide.[4]

Hosted by the North Carolina State University’s library, this digital collection encompasses CITES-listed timber species and other endangered woody plants. Its significance lies in aiding wood identification through a multi-entry key, enabling searches based on the presence or absence of IAWA features. Additionally, it functions as a virtual reference collection, allowing users to retrieve descriptions and images by searching scientific or common names, or other relevant keywords.[5] The whole database contains materials from over 10,000 woody species and 200 plant families.

The database contains two dinstictive menus for specific anatomical features of modern wood species:

In nowadays, identifying wood holds significance across several domains and it is of critical importance for commercial, forensic, archaeological, and paleontological applications. It is also important from the economical point of view.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "InsideWood Database, IAWA". CITES. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  2. ↑ Wheeler, Elisabeth A. (2011). "Inside Wood – A Web resource for hardwood anatomy". IAWA Journal. Brill. 32 (2): 199–211. doi:10.1163/22941932-90000051. ISSN 0928-1541.
  3. ↑ "Inside Wood". Inside Wood. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  4. ↑ "InsideWood - A web resource for hardwood anatomy" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  5. ↑ Wheeler, Elisabeth A.; Gasson, Peter E.; Baas, Pieter [in German] (2020-07-01). "Using the InsideWood web site: Potentials and pitfalls". IAWA Journal. Brill. 41 (4): 412–462. doi:10.1163/22941932-bja10032. ISSN 0928-1541.
  6. ↑ "Modern Softwood Menu". Inside Wood. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  7. ↑ "Modern Hardwood Menu". Inside Wood. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  8. ↑ "Wood identification - A review" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-11-21.
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