Open Access

ARTICLE

Visualizing Complex Anatomical Structure in Bamboo Nodes Based on X-ray Microtomography

Elin Xiang^1,2, Shumin Yang^1,*, Chunjie Cao³, Xinge Liu¹, Guanyun Peng⁴, Lili Shang¹, Genlin Tian¹, Qianli Ma¹, Jianfeng Ma¹

1 Bamboo and Rattan Science and Technology Laboratory, International Center for Bamboo and Rattan, Beijing, 100102, China
2 Key Laboratory of Wood Science and Technology of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Wood Industry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China
3 Carl Zeiss (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 200131, China
4 Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201204, China

* Corresponding Author: Shumin Yang. Email:

Journal of Renewable Materials 2021, 9(9), 1531-1540. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2021.015346

Received 11 December 2020; Accepted 31 December 2020; Issue published 23 April 2021

Abstract

In recent years, bamboo has been widely used in a broad range of applications, a thorough understanding of the structural characteristics of bamboo nodes is essential for better processing and manufacturing of biomimetic materials. This study investigated the complex anatomical structure for the nodes of two bamboo species, Indocalamus latifolius (Keng) McClure and Shibataea chinensis Nakai, using a high-resolution X-ray microtomography (μCT). The results show that the vascular bundle system in the nodal region of I. latifolius and S. chinensis is a net-like structure composed of horizontal and axial vascular bundles. Furthermore, the fiber sheath surrounding metaxylem vessels tended to be shorter in the tangential direction. This structure of bamboo nodes facilitates the tangential and axial transport of moisture and nutrients. The anatomical structure of I. latifolius and S. chinensis nodes has obvious differences, especially in the arrangement of vascular bundles. Vascular bundle frequency was significantly higher in S. chinensis nodes than in I. latifolius nodes. These findings indicate that μCT is a nondestructive three-dimensional imaging method that can used to examine the anatomical structure of bamboo nodes.

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