| | CITESwoodID: descriptions, illustrations, identification and information retrieval |
Nomenclature. Family: FABACEAE-CAESALPINIOIDEAE. Other trade relevant species: other heavy and hard Swartzia timbers with a dark heartwood, originating from South and Central America and the Caribbean, and also Bocoa prouacensis. Synonym(s): Swartzia lundellii, Tounatea cubensis. Further trade and local names: churu cajc, kataloch, naranjillo, palo azul (MX); llora sangre (GT); carboncillo, costilla de danto, frijolón, kikir, melón, moridero (CR); pico de gallo (CU); "bastard rosewood" (BZ,US); "Mexican ebony" (US). Code according to DIN EN 13556: none.
CITES(EU) status of protection. Not protected (Swartzia cubensis has become quite scarce and had been listed in the 1997 "red list" of threatened species by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources)).
Similar timbers. Similarly heavy, hard and dark woods of the genus Dalbergia (CITES II), for example D. cochinchinensis, D. maritima, D. melanoxylon, D. spruceana.
Geographic distribution. Mexico and Central America, Caribbean, tropical South America. Swartzia cubensis, Swartzia spp.: from Costa Rica to southeastern Mexico (Yucatan peninsula) and Cuba; Bocoa prouacensis in Surinam and French Guyana.
Growth rings, colour, grain, etc. Growth ring boundaries indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown, black, purple (brownisch to purplish black). Sapwood distinct from heartwood colour. Wood heavy and hard (0.98–1.12–1.29 g/cm3). Interlocked grain present.
Hardwood vs softwood. Vessels (pores) present (= hardwood).
Vessels (pores). Wood diffuse-porous. Vessels (pores) in multiples; commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Vessels large (155–180(-215)); very few to few ((2-)3–6(-9)). Tyloses absent. Other deposits in heartwood vessels (pores) present.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma present; banded and not banded. Parenchyma bands not (only) marginal; wide; much wider than rays. Other macroscopically visible types of axial parenchyma: aliform winged, confluent.
Rays. Rays narrow. Large rays commonly less than 1 mm high.
Storied structure. Storied structure present. Tiers regular (horizontal or slightly inclined); 2–3 per axial millimetre.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract fluorescent (weakly bluish green); colour shade of water extract colourless to brown. Ethanol extract fluorescent (blue); colour shade of ethanol extract purple. Froth test positive. Splinter burns to full ash; colour of ash bright white.
Additional information. • Transverse section + wood surface. Transverse section ca. 10x. Tangential surface, natural size.
The interactive key allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting specified attributes, summaries of attributes within groups of taxa, and geographical distribution.
Cite this publication as: ‘Richter, H.G., Gembruch, K., and Koch, G. 2014 onwards. CITESwoodID: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. In English, French, German, and Spanish. Version: 4th April 2023. www.delta-intkey.com’.
