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Following general remarks on the life of Van Leeuwenhoek and his role in wood anatomy, his account of the structure of a torn vessel wall of nutmeg rootwood is discussed in detail. The cross-wise orientation of minute 'vessels or fibres' as observed and interpreted by Van Leeuwenhoek can be considered to be the first (unintentional) correct record of the fibrillar nature of the woody cell wall.
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Pieter Baas (1982) studied this question.
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