| | Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. DIPTEROCARPACEAE. S. acuminatissima, S. faguetiana, S. gibbosa, S. hopeifolia, S. multiflora, etc. Trade and local names: yellow meranti (MY, trade); yellow seraya (MY-sab); yellow lauan (PH); meranti kuning (ID); meranti damar hitam (MY); selangan kuning, s. kacha (MY-sab). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: Indomalesia.
General. Heartwood basically yellow; without streaks. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Density 0.4–0.62–0.75 g/cm³.
Vessels. Vessels present. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 150–200–250 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 4–9. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 6–7 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders or with reduced borders or apparently simple, similar to intervessel pits, rounded or angular or horizontal to vertical (mostly round to oval). Large pits with reduced borders in marginal cells, small pits in procumbent cells. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids commonly present (vasicentric). Fibres of medium wall thickness. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded (axial resin canals embedded in parenchyma bands) or not banded. Bands fine to coarse. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma vasicentric, or aliform, or confluent. Aliform parenchyma of the winged type. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 4–6.
Rays. Rays 5–9 per tangential mm, multiseriate, (1–)3–6 cells wide. Rays of two distinct sizes. 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 or mostly 2–4 marginal rows of upright or square cells.
Storied structures. Storied structure present or absent, axial parenchyma storied.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals present, oriented axially or oriented radially, axial intercellular canals in long tangential lines or in short tangential lines. Radial intervascular canals of very variable diameter present in all species.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells or axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square or procumbent. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells not chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
Illustrations. • Transverse section. Shorea faguetiana. axial intercellular canals (IC) in tangential bands. IC. • Tangential section. Shorea hopeifolia. radial intercellular canals (IC). IC. IC. • Radial section. Shorea hopeifolia. IC. radial intercellular canal (IC). • Intercellular canals. radial intercellular canals small, medium and large. Shorea balanocarpoides. Shorea blumutensis. Shorea angustifolia.
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’.
