| | Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. CLUSIACEAE (GUTTIFERAE). Trade and local names: machare, tomento, azufre (CO); laurel de monte, brea amarilla (BO); zaputi (EC); brea caspi (PE); peramancillo (VE); manúi (GY); ossol (GH); chewstick, barillo (HN); boar wood, hog gum (JM); matakki (SR). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical Africa, Mexico and Central America, Caribbean, tropical South America.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct or indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown and yellow; without streaks. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour (light yellowish to white). Density 0.65–0.75 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 150–250(–300) µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 2–5. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 9–11 µm. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, rounded or angular or horizontal to vertical. Helical thickenings absent. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 1300–2300 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma present, banded. Bands not marginal (or seemingly marginal). Bands fine or coarse, 3–4 per radial mm. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma aliform, or confluent. Aliform parenchyma of the lozenge type. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 4.
Rays. Rays 6–10 per tangential mm, multiseriate, (1–)2–4 cells wide. 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.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent. Laticifers or tanniniferous tubes absent.
Cambial variants. Included phloem absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in rarely ray cells or axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing ray cells procumbent. Crystals in procumbent ray cells not in radial alignment. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered, or not chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Crystal containing cells of normal size, or enlarged (idioblasts). Crystal bearing idioblasts only in few specimens. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Froth test negative.
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’.
