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Nomenclature etc. FABACEAE-CAESALPINIOIDEAE. Syn.: Pterygopodium balsamiferum Verm. Trade and local names: tola blanc (FR); tola branca (DE, AO, CG); agbara, moboron (NG); avulu, boana, bokuku, bolimba, ntola, ntuba, mpele, mupaka (CG, CD); alop, mpele (AO); sinedom (CM); emolo (GA). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 4 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical Africa.
General. Heartwood basically brown to yellow, brown to red (pinkish brown). Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour, or distinct from heartwood colour. Odour distinct. Density 0.45–0.55 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 90–130–155 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 6–15. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 4–5 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Other deposits present (orange brown).
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 400–1000–1800 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Bands not marginal (or seemingly marginal). Bands fine or coarse. Banded parenchyma only connecting axial intercellular canals. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse, or 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.
Rays. Rays 5–7 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2 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, oriented axially or oriented radially (extremely rare), axial intercellular canals in short tangential lines and diffusely arranged.
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.
Illustrations. • Transverse section. IC. axial intercellular canals (IC). IC. aC. IC. • Tangential section. radial intercellular canal occurring very infrequently. uniseriate rays virtually absent in this species. • Radial section. rays predominantly homocellular.
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’.
