Anatomical, physical and biometric properties of Ficus carica in longitudinal and transverse direction of tree stem

In this study, biometrics, physical and microscopic properties of Ficus carica wood were investigated. Therefore, three healthy Ficus carica trees in Mazandaran province have been selected and cut. Three discs of 5 cm thickness were prepared along the tree (diameter at breast height, 1.9 m height and near the crown). In the transverse direction, 2 × 2 × 2 cm test specimens were sequentially taken from the pith to the bark and examined for physical and biometric properties of the fibers. Then the biometric properties of fibers including fiber length, fiber lumen diameter, fiber diameter and cell wall thickness were measured. Physical properties including basic density, oven dry density, longitudinal shrinkage, radial shrinkage and tangential shrinkage were calculated. Microscopic sections of three surfaces (transverse, tangential and radial) of Ficus carica tree was prepared and the anatomical characteristics of the wood of this species were determined precisely and indexed by IAWA. Anatomical studies near the pith and bark of this wood revealed differences. The most important of these differences are the presence of Tyloses in the vessel lumen near the pith and the absence of it in the near bark, homogeneous rays near the bark and heterogeneous rays in the near pith, the mean tangential vessel diameter near larger bark (105 μm) than near pith (70 μm) and wood rays were wider near the bark than near the pith. Also Ficus carica tree was diffuse porous hardwood species, distinct growth ring, Axial parenchyma vasicentric and Banded, Simple perforation plates Intervessel pits alternate and containing prismatic crystals in parenchyma. The results showed that there were significant differences in both the transverse and longitudinal directions of Ficus carica tree in terms of fiber length, fiber lumen diameter, fiber diameter and cell wall thickness. As biometric properties of fibers increased from pith to bark.