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Nomenclature etc. LAURACEAE. L. chrysophylla, L. guianensis, L. martiniana, L. pachycarpa, L. polyphylla, L. puchury-maior, etc. Trade and local names: louro, canela (BR); laurel, canela (EC, CO, AR, etc.); kaneel (SR); silverballi (GY). these names with various epithets as a function of the region. Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: Mexico and Central America, Caribbean, tropical South America, southern Brazil, temperate South America.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct or indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown and yellow, green. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour distinct, or indistinct or absent. Density 0.6–0.8 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 (55–)70–110(–130) µm. Average number of vessels/mm² (11–)13–24(–28). Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) (7–)9–11(–12) µm. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, different from intervessel pits, rounded or angular and horizontal to vertical, of uniform size or type. Tyloses present, thinwalled or sclerotic.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 750–1200 µm. 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: 4–8.
Rays. Rays multiseriate, 2–3 cells wide. Height of large rays up to 500 µm, or commonly 500 to 1000 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.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Oil and mucilage cells present, associated with axial parenchyma or ray parenchyma.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, needle-like (acicular) to in other forms, located in ray cells or fibres. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square or procumbent. Number of crystals per cell or chamber more than one. Crystalline substances (birefringent blocks) in fibre lumina of L. brittoniana and L. parvifolia; crystalline debris in ray cells of species of the subgenus Armeniaca (except L. subbulata); acicular crystals frequent in ray cells of species of the subgenus Guianensis (L. campechiana, L. peckii, L. triandra sensu lato). Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Colour of water extract colourless to brown. Colour of ethanol extract yellow.
Illustrations. • Transverse section. Licaria polyphylla. • Tangential section. Licaria polyphylla. • Radial section. Licaria polyphylla. • Oil cells; septate fibres. Licaria chrysophylla. oil cells associated with ray (OR) and axial parenchyma (OP): fibres septate. OR. OP.
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’.
