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Nomenclature etc. APOCYNACEAE. Syn.: Aspidosperma peroba Fr. All. Trade and local names: palo rosa, yvyraro mi, peroba (PY); palo rosa (AR); peroba, perova, peroba amargosa, peroba-rajada, peroba-açu, sobro, peroba comum, peroba-do-rio, peroba-paulista, peroba-mirim, peroba-miúda (BR). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 4 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: southern Brazil, temperate South America.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct (if microscopically distinct, demarcated by zones of smaller, thicker walled and radially flattened fibres in combination with fewer and smaller vessels) or indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically red. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour, or distinct from heartwood colour. Density 0.75–0.85 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, exclusively solitary. Average tangential vessel diameter 20–90 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 50–80. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 3–5 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Ray-vessel pits appear largely restricted to marginal cell rows; however, this character does not apply to all specimens. Tyloses present, thinwalled. Other deposits present (amber coloured, rare).
Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids commonly present. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 700–1000–1250 µm. Fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls, distinctly bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse, or diffuse-in-aggregates. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2–4(–6).
Rays. Rays 7–9 per tangential mm, multiseriate, (1–)2(–3) cells wide. Aggregate rays absent. Height of large rays up to 500 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular); homocellular ray cells procumbent.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells and axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing ray cells procumbent. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract fluorescent; colour of water extract colourless to brown. Ethanol extract fluorescent (white with a blueish hue). Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown. Froth test weakly positive. Splinter burns to charcoal.
Illustrations. • Transverse section. • Tangential section. • Radial section. • Crystals. prismatic crystals in chambered axial parenchyma cells (semi-polarized light); note large bordered fibre pits.
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’.
