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Heartwood

The hard, central part of the trunk of a tree, consisting of the old and matured wood, and usually differing in colour from the outer layers. It is technically known as duramen, and distinguished from the softer sapwood or alburnum. The older inactive central wood of a tree or woody plant; usually darker and denser than the surrounding sapwood.The wood found at the centre of trees where no living tissue is present and plays a structural role in supporting the outer living layers.