Another very thin section of wood, this time English Oak (Quercus robur) at the same scale as above. Again from left to right can be seen one full year’s growth. In spring, when the tree opens out its new leaves and needs copious amounts of water, large conducting vessels develop. For the rest of the summer the cells and vessels are smaller as the tree settles into its new size and puts on a new shell of wood. Being a broadleaf tree it loses all its leaves in winter i.e. it is deciduous. Winter is marked in the wood and in this thin section by a sharp but wavy line at the left of the circle. This is followed by the large conducting vessels of the next spring’s growth. Again this accounts for the rings in the wood.