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| Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. APOCYNACEAE. Syn.: Tabernaemontana kamassi Eckl., Gonioma kamassi var. brachycarpum E. Meyer. Trade and local names: kamassiwood, Knysna boxwood, false Cape box (ZA). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree, or shrub. Geographic distribution: southern Africa.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct or indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically yellow. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Density 0.7–0.9 g/cm³.
Vessels. Vessels present. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels exclusively solitary. Average tangential vessel diameter 30–55 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 50–80. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 3–4 µm. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Other deposits present (yellow).
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls, distinctly bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse, or diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2–8.
Rays. Rays 6–11 per tangential mm, multiseriate, (1–)3–5(–6) cells wide. Rays of two distinct sizes. Height of large rays up to 500 µm. Rays composed of two or more cell types (heterocellular). Heterocellular rays with square and upright cells restricted to marginal rows, mostly 1 marginal row of upright or square cells or mostly 2–4 marginal rows of upright or square cells. Perforated ray cells present.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals not observed. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood fluorescent (green). Water extract fluorescent (bluish-green); colour of water extract yellow. Ethanol extract fluorescent (bright yellowish-green). Colour of ethanol extract yellow.
Illustrations. • Transverse section. • Tangential section. • Radial section.
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’.
