• Perem, E.
  Ottawa Laboratory, Forest Products Laboratories of Canada
  

Compression-wood is a natural defect in softwood species. It occurs in the main trunk of trees that during some period of growth have been, for some reason or other, inclined or bent away from the vertical. In such stems, compression-wood is formed in the lower side of the lean or bend. In its well-developed forms, compression-wood is easily recognizable. It is darker in color than normal wood when observed in green condition, and is usually associated with some eccentricity in cross section of the stem. In eccentric stems, the main areas of compression-wood are located on the side of long radius of the cross section.