As reported by Bailey and Swamy, Amborella has tracheids that tend to have scalariformly pitted end walls but smaller oval to circular pits on lateral walls. SEM studies of tracheids from both sections and macerations reveal that there are small pores in the end wall pit membranes, but pore size is smaller than in dicots with vessels that contain porose pit membrane remnants in perforations (e.g., Illicium). The size difference is not sharply different, showing that tracheids and vessels, although identifiable, are close to being an intercontinuous system. Amborella is alleged to lack mucilage/oil cells, but thin-walled sclereids containing sphaeroidal non-staining contents are present in leaves. Anatomy of Amborella is compatible with the concept of a relationship to Illiciales (s. l.)

Key words: Amborella, Illiciales, tracheids, wood anatomy