Fluorescence study of 10,610 woody species from the tervuren (Tw) collection, Belgium

Abstract

Studies of fluorescence in wood have been carried out sporadically for more than sixty years. Recently, the attention of anatomists has been focused on this characteristic as a helpful tool in computer-assisted timber identification. From this review of about 11,000 woody species it is possible to conclude that fluorescence is rather common since 11.66% of the samples shows this property which is, moreover, strongly linked to taxonomic delimitation at the genus and family level.