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| Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. FABACEAE-CAESALPINIOIDEAE. Syn.: Copaifera ehie A. Chev. Trade and local names: amazoue, whimawe (CI); mongoy (GA, GQ,); anokye, ehie, hyeduanini, hyedun (GH); "palissandro" (GQ). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical Africa.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct. Demarcated by marginal parenchyma and slight changes in vessel frequency. Heartwood basically brown, yellow, green; with streaks (dark brown to almost black colour striping). Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour indistinct or absent. Density 0.66–0.75–0.88 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter (120–)130–140–160 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 3–5–7. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 7–10 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Helical thickenings absent. Other deposits present (dark olive-brown).
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 700–1220–1630 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate. Fibre pits large and conspicuous.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded or not banded. Bands marginal (or seemingly marginal). Bands fine. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse, or diffuse-in-aggregates (strands with mostly thick-walled, often sclerosed cells, crystalliferous and located immediately adjacent to rays). Paratracheal axial parenchyma vasicentric to aliform to confluent. Aliform parenchyma of the lozenge type. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: (2–)4–8.
Rays. Rays 4–8 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 1–3–5 cells wide. Height of large rays up to 500 µm, or commonly 500 to 1000 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular); homocellular ray cells procumbent. Ray hight approximately 0.4–0.6 mm.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent.
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 (some specimens with yellow fluorescence, others none). Water extract fluorescent (weakly yellow); colour of water extract colourless to brown. Ethanol extract fluorescent (yellow). Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown. Froth test weakly positive. Splinter burns to full ash. Ash white to grey.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images: cross section. transverse (ca. 10x). • Macroscopic images: wood surface. surface (natural size). tangential. radial. • 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’.
