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Nomenclature etc. GENTIANACEAE (LOGANIACEAE). Additional species of Fagraea occasionally traded as 'tembesu': F. crenulata (S.Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo), F. elliptica (Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Moluccas, New Guinea), F. gracilipes (New Guinea, E.Australia, Solomon Islands, Fiji). Trade and local names: tamosu, kolaki, nosu (ID); temasuk, pedang (MY); urung, dolo, teca (PH); anan, ananma (MM); Burma yellowheart, ironwood (GB); tatrao (KH); man pa (LA); tam sao, kankrao, man pla (TH); trai (VN). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indomalesia.
General. Growth ring boundaries indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown, yellow to white or grey. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Density 0.64–0.85–1.08 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows or in radial rows of 4 or more. Average tangential vessel diameter 100–200 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 6–14(–20). Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 6–8 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, different from intervessel pits, horizontal to vertical. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 900–1800 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Axial parenchyma bands forming a reticulate pattern with rays. Bands fine. Axial parenchyma paratracheal. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty, or vasicentric. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2–4. Parenchyma bands often wavy and discontinuous.
Rays. Rays 15–17 per tangential mm, exclusively uniseriate. Height of large rays up to 500 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular), or two or more cell types (heterocellular); homocellular ray cells square or upright. Heterocellular rays with square and upright cells restricted to marginal rows, mostly 1 marginal row of upright or square cells.
Cambial variants. Included phloem absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals not observed. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract not fluorescent; colour of water extract colourless to brown. Ethanol extract not fluorescent. Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown. Froth test weakly positive. Splinter burns to charcoal.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images: cross section. transverse (ca. 10x). • Macroscopic images: wood surface. surface (natural size). tangential. radial. • Transverse section. Fagraea fragrans. • Tangential section. Fagraea fragrans. • Radial section. Fagraea fragrans.
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’.
