Skip to content
Vinony

heartwood

noun

  1. strong central wood in a trunk or branch
L101607 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈhɑɹtˌwʊd/

noun

Etymology: From heart + wood.

  1. The wood nearer the heart of a stem or branch, different in color from the sapwood.

    “A popular myth is that heartwood is stronger than sapwood.”

    “The staves are split from the heartwood. The heartwood is composed of dead cells; it supports the tree, but no longer has any physiological purpose. The staves must follow the grain of the wood to achieve a watertight cask, so they are split rather than sawn. — L'encyclopédie du Cognac: From log to stave”