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Nomenclature etc. PHYLLANTACEAE (EUPHORBIACEAE). Trade and local names: bishop wood, java cedar (GB); bois l'éveque (FR); gintungan, kerinjing (ID); jitang, tuai (MY); java cedar (PG); tuai (PH); toem, pradu-som (TH); nhoi (VN). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indomalesia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Australia.
General. Heartwood basically brown to red, purple. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Density 0.5–0.9 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows to in radial rows of 4 or more. Solitary vessels oval in outline. Average tangential vessel diameter 130–170 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 2–5. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 10–14 µm. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, rounded or angular or horizontal to vertical. Tyloses present, thinwalled. Other deposits present (reddish brown).
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 2100–2500 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres exclusively septate; evenly distributed.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma present. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 3–4.
Rays. Rays 3–7 per tangential mm, multiseriate, (1–)2–6 cells wide. Rays of two distinct sizes. Height of large rays commonly over 1000 µm. Rays composed of two or more cell types (heterocellular). Heterocellular rays with square and upright cells restricted to marginal rows, mostly 2–4 marginal rows of upright or square cells to with more than 4 marginal rows of upright or square cells. Sheath cells occasionally present. Uniseriate rays composed solely of square and upright cells.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Cambial variants. Included phloem absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square, upright and/or square ray cells chambered or not chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
Illustrations. • 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’.
