Tiny pieces of fragmented wood take on an unusually beautiful appearance when illuminated under darkfield conditions with a transmitted light microscope.

These miniature bits of wood measure only several hundred microns in diameter and seem to be semi-transparent, a quality derived from their cellulose-like composition. Much of the sawdust mixture is composed of hardened wood sap that is released during the production of sawdust. The complex structure in the foreground was formed by hardened sap that formed while the wood was being ripped and torn apart.