Look closely at a cut log and you may see thin lines running from the center out to the bark, like spokes on a wheel. Ray initials make them!
Drag to turn it around. Use the buttons to zoom in and try things from the lessons.
The 3D model can't load right now. Check your internet connection, or try a different web browser.
The vascular cambium is a thin layer of dividing cells under the bark of a tree. Most of its cells are long and skinny. But mixed in among them are little groups of ray initials.
Ray initials are short and small, roughly box-shaped. They sit in small clusters between the long cells.
In oak wood, the rays are so big you can see them as shiny flecks and stripes on a cut board!
When ray initials divide, they make rays. A ray is a thin ribbon of living cells that runs sideways through the trunk, from the inside wood out toward the bark.
Press Food goes in on the 3D model to watch food travel along a ray toward the center of the log.