A gummy substance of the pentosan class, present in woody tissue, and yielding xylose on hydrolysis; wood gum.

cell wall polysaccharide containing a backbone of (1-4)-linked xylose residues. Side-chains of 4-O-methylglucuronic acid, arabinose, and acetyl groups are present in varying amounts.

A type of hemicellulose; yellow, water-soluble, gummy polysaccharide found in plant (e.g. hardwood or cereal straws) cell walls; main structural components are xylose and other pentoses; yields xylose and other pentoses upon hydrolysis. See also: xylose, hemicelluloses

Switched Ethernet specialist which IBM all but took over mid 1996 in a five-year joint technology, development, sales, and marketing agreement. Alcatel bought Xylan in April 1999.