Transverse section of European ash stem wood at breast height. Image in reflected light, acquired at magnification × 8.3 with an Olympus SZX9 stereomicroscope system equipped with Olympus ColorView IIIu camera and GetIt software. Close to the bark, a sequence of few annual rings comprising very narrow, average width and wide increments is present. On the photomicrograph, late wood is darker than earlywood. The abatement of latewood zone is intrinsic to the annual ring width decrease, while the earlywood area is almost unchanged.