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Nomenclature etc. LAURACEAE. Syn.: Aniba duckei Kostermans. Trade and local names: pau rosa verdadeiro, pau rosa imbaúba, pau rosa itaúba, pau rosa mulatinho (BR); bois de rose (FR); cara-cara (GY); bois de rose femelle (GF). Listed in CITES Annex II.
Description based on 4 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical South America (Brasil (Amapá, Amazonas, Pará); Colombia, Ecuador, Guyanas, Peru, Suriname).
General. Heartwood basically brown, yellow, green. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour distinct (strongly aromatic (linalool)). Density 0.5–0.6 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Vessel outline rounded, or angular. Average tangential vessel diameter 90–110(–130) µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 9–11. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 9–13 µm. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, different from intervessel pits, rounded or angular or horizontal to vertical, of two distinct sizes or types in the same ray cell. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres exclusively septate; evenly distributed.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma paratracheal. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty, or vasicentric. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 3–4.
Rays. Rays 7–9 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2(–3) cells wide. 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 (rarely 2).
Secretory structures. Oil and mucilage cells present, associated with axial parenchyma or ray parenchyma.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals not observed. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract fluorescent (light greenish blue); colour of water extract colourless to brown. Ethanol extract not fluorescent. Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown. Splinter burns to partial ash. Ash white to grey.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images. transverse (ca. 10x). radial (natural size). • Transverse section. • Transverse section, enlarged. Or. Op. oil cells abundant, associated with axial parenchyma (Op) and rays (Or). • 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’.
