Macrophotographic wood atlas of Annonaceae

In this article, a general description of the microscopic wood anatomy of Annonaceae is given. We provide a description of the wood anatomical features of the family and of all subfamilies and tribes, all from material in the Utrecht Wood collection. Hand-lens images can be an important help in identification, not only at the family level, but also at the level of genera or below, notwithstanding the fact that the number of characters that can be easily observed in end-grain photographs is restricted. The differences are often slight and difficult to summarize in a few words, making illustrations an indispensable tool. Therefore, we provide end-grain photographs of cross-sections of wood of 66 genera and > 90 species of Annonaceae. The variation seen in lens key characters is discussed against the framework of the current phylogenetic tree of the family. Additional remarks on microscopic features are given when appropriate. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 169, 135–189.