ABSTRACT
Woody plants of temperate regions have a unique life history. They perennate or survive from year to year with periods of active growth alternating with dormant periods. During active growth periods, when conditions are favorable, they enlarge in length and girth to produce increasingly larger plant bodies. Generally speaking, trees produce a layer of wood, a tree ring, around their circumference each year in regions characterized by a temperate or seasonal climate. When performing tree-ring analysis of historic buildings, people examine and note the year-to-year variation in tree-ring width in a building’s timbers. Cells of the vascular cambium are found between the bark and the outermost cells of the tree ring formed in the previous year. As a tree grows, it increases in both height and diameter. Height growth results from specialized tissue found in the buds at the tips of each branch.
