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Colour banding of grasstree stems
Grasstrees are arborescent monocotyledons widespread in Australia. Removing charcoal from the persistent leafbases reveals alternating cream and brown bands corresponding to seasonal effects, and occasional black bands due to fire. Colangelo et al. (pp. 605-611) examine the basis for these colour changes and show that tannins in the cortex and naphthalene-derivatives in the vascular tissue are responsible.
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