Definition: Anisocarpous refers to a type of wood that exhibits two distinct layers, usually separated by a cell wall material. These layers may be in a continuous or discontinuous pattern. The term originated from an earlier era, when "anis" was used to mean "split," and "carp" meant "wood." So the word "anisocarpous" means "having two distinct layers." It is a type of wood that can have alternating layers of wood with each other, such as sawn timber or engineered wood. The presence of cell walls in these types of wood helps to prevent wood from splitting during processing.