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Nomenclature etc. CALOPHYLLACEAE (CLUSIACEAE). Syn.: Ochrocarpus africanus (Sabine) Oliv. Trade and local names: djimbo (CI); bom pegya (GH); ologbomidu (NG); abotzok (CM); oboto, ebornzork (GA); m'bossi, libu (CG); bokoli, m'boza, boliki (CD); mammee-apple (GB); abricotier d'Afrique (FR). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical Africa.
General. Heartwood basically brown, red. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Density 0.6–0.75 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, exclusively solitary. Average tangential vessel diameter 140–250(–280) µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 2–11. Average vessel element length 300–800 µm. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate (very rare), average diameter (vertical) 5–8 µm (pits only between vasicentric tracheids and vessels). Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, different from intervessel pits, rounded or angular. Helical thickenings absent. Tyloses present, thinwalled. Other deposits present (rare, reddish brown, in tyloses).
Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids commonly present (vasicentric tracheids). Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 1350–1900(–2600) µm. Fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls, distinctly bordered (large, up to 7 µm). Fibres non-septate. Fibre lumens often filled with dark reddish brown gum deposits.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma apotracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse, or diffuse-in-aggregates. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2–9.
Rays. Rays 7–11 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 1–3 cells wide. Rays with multiseriate portions as wide as uniseriate portions present, or absent. Rays of one size. 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 to with more than 4 marginal rows of upright or square cells. Uniseriate rays frequent, composed exclusively of square and upright cells.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals present, oriented radially. Radial intercellular canals of variable frequency, very large.
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. • Tangential section. intercellular canals (IC) in rays. IC. IC. • 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’.
