duramen

3 definitions found

duramen - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Duramen \Du*ra"men\, n. [L., hardness, a hardened, i. e.,
     ligneous, vine branch, fr. durare to harden. See Dure.]
     (Bot.)
     The heartwood of an exogenous tree.
     [1913 Webster]

  Heartwood \Heart"wood`\ (h[aum]rt"w[oo^]d`), n.
     The hard, central part of the trunk of a tree, consisting of
     the old and matured wood, and usually differing in color from
     the outer layers. It is technically known as duramen, and
     distinguished from the softer sapwood or alburnum.
     [1913 Webster]

duramen - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  duramen
      n 1: the older inactive central wood of a tree or woody plant;
           usually darker and denser than the surrounding sapwood
           [syn: heartwood, duramen]