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| Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. BETULACEAE. Trade and local names: Weißbuche, Hagebuche, Hornbaum (DE), charme commun (FR), common hornbeam (GB), haagebeuke (NL), carpino bianco (IT), habr obecny (CZ), grab (PL), carpen (RO), votbok (SE), gyertýn (HU). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: Europe, excl. Mediterranean.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct. Heartwood basically white or grey. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Density 0.5–0.79–0.82 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Vessel diameter continuously decreasing from earlywood to latewood. Average tangential vessel diameter 52–68–88 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 20–50. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 9–11 µm. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, rounded or angular, located throughout the ray or restricted to marginal rows. Helical thickenings present, only in narrow vessel elements (in latewood), throughout the body of vessel elements. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 880–1800 µm. Fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls, simple to minutely bordered.
Axial parenchyma. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 4–8.
Rays. Rays 14–18 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 1–2 cells wide (within aggregates also some 3–4 seriate rays). Aggregate rays present. Rays of two distinct sizes. Height of large rays up to 500 µm, or commonly over 1000 µm (only aggregate rays). 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.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells. Crystal-containing ray cells procumbent. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Crystal containing cells enlarged (idioblasts). Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract not fluorescent; colour of water extract yellow. Ethanol extract not fluorescent. Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown. Froth test positive. Splinter burns to full ash. Ash white to grey.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images. transverse (ca. 10x). radial (natural size). • Transverse section. • Tangential section. • Radial section. single crystal in slightly enlarged ray cell.
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’.
