| | Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. FABACEAE-CAESALPINIOIDEAE. Trade and local names: palo de aceite; aceitillo (MX); copaiva, amacey, aceita de pau, pau d'oleo (BR); canimé (CO); aram, balsam (GY); caniva, cupay (PA); hoepelhout, koepajoewa (SR); aceita, cabimo (VE); copaibo (BO); panchimouti (GF). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 5 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: Mexico and Central America, Caribbean, tropical South America.
General. Growth ring boundaries indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown, red. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour (pinkish grey or nearly white). Density 0.59–0.7 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 105–150 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 4–7. Average vessel element length 340–450 µm. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 10–13 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Other deposits present (yellowish or red-brown).
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 1080–1280 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded or not banded. Bands not marginal (or seemingly marginal). Bands coarse. Banded parenchyma only connecting axial intercellular canals. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma vasicentric. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2–4.
Rays. Rays 5–7–10 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2–3 cells wide. Height of large rays up to 500 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular); homocellular ray cells procumbent.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals present, non-traumatic origin, oriented axially, axial intercellular canals in long tangential lines.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood fluorescent, or not fluorescent (light yellow). Water extract fluorescent (blue green); colour of water extract colourless to brown, or red. Ethanol extract fluorescent (blue green). Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown to red. Froth test positive.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images. transverse (ca. 10x). tangential (natural size). • Transverse section. IC. IC. IC. IC. axial intercellular canals (IC) included in parenchyma bands. • Tangential section. note variation in ray size and shape in different specimens. • 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’.
