Hmmm....

I think, if you are looking at a lot of cross section roots and branches you might still want the plank view wood, since the end grain will only be exposed in vertical limbs and the trunk.

What's the texture that Mark is using in that sketch he did? Is that one of the CSUAC fills?

I don't have any end grain textures immediately to hand, but I'll go have a look at Textures.com, and see if I can bring back a link, since its for you