The anatomy of the secondary xylem and distribution pattern of gelatinous fibres (G-fibres) have been studied in the developing and heavy fruitbearing mature peduncles of Kigelia pinnata and Couroupita guianensis.The peduncle in both the plants developed reaction xylem as a result ofgrowth stresses caused by development of large fruits. In Couroupitapeduncles which are originally horizontal, G-fibre distribution was uni-lateral and similar to that of typical tension wood whereas the hangingKigelia peduncles have uniformly distributed gelatinous fibres throughoutthe xylem. The tension xylem severity was higher in the basal region anddecreased towards the terminal region of the current year’s peduncle butafter fruit development a drastic increase in tension wood severity wasobserved in the terminal region. In the Kigelia peduncles, tension woodseverity in terms of G-layer proportion to lignified wall was found to beless than in Couroupita. The abundance of vessels decreased with highfrequency of gelatinous fibres in Couroupita. The peduncle of Kigelia ischaracterized by high vessel frequency, thin normal fibre walls, and thickouter walls with thin gelatinous layer in tension wood fibres. Dimensionalvariations were also noticed in the mechanical and conducting elementsvarying with tension wood severity.