Wood anatomy of Supraocotea (Lauraceae) species from Brazil highlights the conserved anatomical structure of the group

Summary The wood anatomy of Lauraceae is frequently described as homogeneous, making species- and genus-level identification challenging for commercial timber monitoring. In Brazil, economically important genera such as Aniba , Nectandra , and Ocotea , which belong to the Supraocotea group (formerly the “ Ocotea complex”), are particularly difficult to identify accurately. Thus, the objective of this study is to describe the macroscopic and microscopic wood anatomy of 36 Supraocotea and two non-Supraocotea species from Brazil to evaluate potential diagnostic characters for their identification, expand our knowledge of wood anatomy within Lauraceae, and conduct the first formal analysis of wood evolution for the family. Comparative data indicate that Supraocotea have a uniform wood anatomy that was generally insufficient to define clades or genera within the group, but with a few macroscopic ( e.g. , growth rings, oil/mucilage cells) and microscopic traits ( e.g. , ray composition, number of cells in parenchyma strands) having diagnostic value for differentiating a restricted number of species within the sampled species. The evolutionary history of wood anatomical characters was investigated using ancestral state reconstructions, which showed independent gains and losses of particular traits such as oil cells, silica crystals, or scalariform perforation plates, and indicated marginal axial parenchyma with evolutionary transitions exclusively in Praelicaria. While providing the first macroscopic and microscopic characterisation of woods of numerous Lauraceae species, our study demonstrates a conserved anatomical structure across clades and genera within Supraocotea, underscoring the need for advanced analytical approaches to improve wood identification and quality control in commercial timber.