CHANGES IN SIZE AND PROPORTION OF SAPWOOD ELEMENTS IN FICUS RELIGIOSA L. IN RELATION TO THE GIRTH OF THE STEM

Examination of transverse and longitudinal sections of cambium and sapwood from Ficus religiosa stem revealed that size of fusiform cambial initials and their derivative xylary elements distinctly varied in relation to girth of the stem. The length of vessel elements in sapwood increased steadily with growing girth of stem axis, but no specific trend was observed for vessel width. The narrow-lumen vessel elements were more abundant in thinner parts of the stem than in the trunk. The relative transectional area of vessels in the sapwood also increased with age (girth) of the stem and constituted 21-27% of the total wood area, the maximum occurring in the thicker part of stem axis, i.e. in the trunk region.