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Nomenclature etc. LAURACEAE. Syn.: Tetranthera megapotamica Sprengel, Nectandra saligna Nees, Oreodaphne tweediei Meissner var. cymulosa Meissner, Nectandra saligna Nees var.obscura Meissner, N. racemifera Meissner, N. tweediei (Meissner) Mez, N. briquetii Hassl., N. membranacea Hassl., N. membranacea Hassl. var.saligna (Nees) Hassl., N. membranacea Hassl. var. saligna (Nees) Hassl. forma floribunda Hassl. Trade and local names: laurel hu (PY); canela preta, c. imbuia, c. fedorenta (BR); ayuí-hú, laurel negro, laurel hú, laurel canela, laurel amarillo, canela negra, laurel, ayuy morotí, a. pará, laurel ayuy, l. blanco, l. overo (AR). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 5 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: southern Brazil, temperate South America.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct. Demarcated by latewood with thicker-walled and radially flattened fibres. Heartwood basically brown. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour indistinct or absent. Density 0.52–0.68 g/cm³. Green wood with very unpleasant odour which disappears when the wood is dried but becomes noticable again upon rehumidification (Tortorelli, 1956).
Vessels. Vessels present. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter (80–)125–150 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² (6–)9–12. Average vessel element length 200–700 µm. 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 very thin-walled, or of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 950 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres exclusively septate; evenly distributed. Fibres with (2-)3–6 septae.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma vasicentric and confluent. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: (2–)3–6(–8).
Rays. Rays 8–9 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2–3 cells wide. Height of large rays 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.
Secretory structures. Oil and mucilage cells present, associated with axial parenchyma, ray parenchyma, and fibres. Secretory cells contain mostly mucilage.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, needle-like (acicular), styloids or elongate, and in form of crystal sand, located in ray cells and axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square and procumbent. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells not chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber more than one. Crystals in one cell or chamber of the same size and of two distinct sizes. Some crystalline blocks in fibre lumina. Silica not observed.
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’.
