Glossary term
What is Sapwood?
Short answer
Sapwood is the younger, outer wood of a trunk that carries water from the roots up to the leaves.
Sapwood, explained for tree service owners
Sapwood is the lighter, living wood just inside the cambium. It carries water and minerals from the roots to the crown and also stores food. A tree keeps growing a new ring of sapwood each year, and the oldest rings slowly turn into heartwood. For a tree service owner, sapwood matters because it is the part of the trunk a tree needs to stay alive. Damage to a wide band of it, such as from girdling or deep wounds, can cut the flow and weaken the crown. It also tends to rot faster than heartwood once the tree is cut, so green sapwood firewood needs time to season.
Related terms
- Cambium
Cambium is the thin layer of living cells just under the bark that makes new wood inward and new bark outward each year.
- Crown
Crown is the upper part of a tree made of branches, twigs and leaves, growing from the trunk.
- Heartwood
Heartwood is the older, inner wood of a trunk that no longer carries water but gives the tree strength.
- Softwood
Softwood is wood from conifers such as pine, spruce and fir, usually lighter and quicker to burn.
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