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Nomenclature etc. ANACARDIACEAE. Trade and local names: boxcheché, kabal-chechen, palo de rosa (MX).
Description based on 6 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: Mexico and Central America, Caribbean.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct (demarcated by very narrow marginal parenchyma bands). Heartwood basically brown, red, yellow; with streaks. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour (light greyish to pinkish brown). Density 0.73–0.81–0.89 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 70- 100–150 µm (-190). Average number of vessels/mm² 6- 12–15 (-24). Average vessel element length 300–500 µm. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 8–10 µm. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, different from intervessel pits, rounded or angular. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate. Fibers often filled with dark brown organic deposits.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Bands marginal (or seemingly marginal). Bands fine. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma vasicentric, or aliform, or confluent. Aliform parenchyma of the lozenge type. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: (2–)3–6(–8).
Rays. Rays multiseriate, 2–3(–4) cells wide. Height of large rays up to 500 µm to commonly 500 to 1000 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular), or two or more cell types (heterocellular); homocellular ray cells procumbent. Heterocellular rays with square and upright cells restricted to marginal rows, mostly 1 marginal row of upright or square cells.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals present, oriented radially.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells and axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square (almost exclusively in marginal cell rows). Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells not chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood fluorescent (yellow). Water extract not fluorescent; colour of water extract colourless to brown (mostly dark brown, but occasionally also light brown (caramel)). Heartwood extractives leachable when in contact with water. Ethanol extract fluorescent (variable from tree to tree, mostly greenish yellow or greenish blue, sometimes yellow). Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown (mostly very dark brown, but occasionally also light brown (caramel)). Froth test positive. Splinter burns to full ash. Ash white to grey, or bright white.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images. transverse (ca. 10x). tangential (natural size). • Transverse section. • Transverse section enlarged. • Tangential section. • Radial section. • Intercellular canals. radial intercellular canal with epithelial cells.
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., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2000 onwards. Commercial timbers: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. In English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Version: 9th April 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
