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Nomenclature etc. IRVINGIACEAE. Incl. Irvingia barteri, I. grandifolia. Trade and local names: dika bread-tree, wild or African Mango tree (trade); meba, mueba (CD); botuba, bopala, etu (CM); mombulu (CG); dika, udika (GA); agbono, ogwe, oro, etc. (NG). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical Africa.
General. Heartwood basically light brown, yellow to white or grey. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Density 0.64–0.75 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 145–220(–300) µm. Average number of vessels/mm² (2–)3–5(–7). Average vessel element length 400–650(–800) µm. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 7–10 µm. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, different from intervessel pits, rounded or angular or horizontal to vertical, of uniform size or type or of two distinct sizes or types in the same ray cell, of the same type in adjacent elements or unilaterally compound and coarse. Helical thickenings absent. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 1650–2200 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Helical thickenings absent. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Bands not marginal (or seemingly marginal). Axial parenchyma bands much wider than rays. Bands coarse. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 6–13.
Rays. Rays 7–11 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2–4 cells wide. Height of large rays up to 500 µm to commonly 500 to 1000 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular); homocellular ray cells procumbent.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells or axial parenchyma cells or tyloses. Crystal-containing ray cells procumbent. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered, or not chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
Illustrations. • Transverse section. Irvingia gabonensis. • Tangential section. Irvingia gabonensis. • Radial section. Irvingia gabonensis.
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’.
