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| Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. FABACEAE-FABOIDEAE. Trade and local names: nogaed, hagaedwood (US); Palissandre du Honduras (FR); Palisandro de Honduras (ES); grenadillo rojo (GT); rosul (BZ). Listed in CITES Annex II.
Description based on 4 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: Mexico and Central America.
General. Growth ring boundaries indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown, purple (light pinkish brown to dark violet brown); with streaks. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour distinct (only the dark violet brown wood has a weakly sweetish odor), or indistinct or absent. Density 0.9–1.2 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows or in radial rows of 4 or more. Average tangential vessel diameter extremely variable (65–)155–220(–360) µm. Average number of vessels/mm² (1–)2–4(–7). Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) (7–)8–9(–10) µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Other deposits present.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres very thick-walled. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Bands marginal (or seemingly marginal) and not marginal (or seemingly marginal). Bands fine. It is often impossible to distinguish between marginal and non-marginal bands. Axial parenchyma apotracheal and paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates (as many short and irregular bandlets). Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty, or vasicentric, or aliform. Aliform parenchyma of the lozenge type. Axial parenchyma fusiform, or as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2(–4).
Rays. Rays 10–13(–17) per tangential mm, multiseriate, 1–3 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 present, all rays storied, axial parenchyma storied, vessel elements storied, fibres storied. Number of ray tiers per axial millimetre 5–6.
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 not fluorescent. Water extract fluorescent (pale blueish green); colour of water extract colourless to brown. Heartwood extractives not leachable by water. Ethanol extract fluorescent (yellowish pink). Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown, or purple. Froth test weakly positive. Splinter burns to full ash. Ash white to grey, or bright white.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images. transverse (ca. 10x). tangential (dark and light colored quality). • 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’.
