Abstract: Vestured pits on the vessel wall in 26 species belonging to 19 genera and 3 sub-families Chinese leguminosae woods were investigated by SEM. Among them vestured pits in vessel, except 4 species, have been observed, Present or absent, shape and distribution of vestures are some valuable features for the identificatin of genera and species of Leguminosae woods. When wood sections (14 species) were treated with 5% sodium hypochorite, vestures decreased mostly or could not be seen. When the ultrathin wood section of one species was studied using TEM, it indicated that the electron. density is different between the vestures and the second wall, namely, different chemcal composition was shown between them. In addition, the formation, function of vestures and its relations with warts were discussed too.

Key words: Vestured pit, Vestures, Leguminosae woods, Vessel, Electron microscopy