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| Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. FABACEAE-MIMOSOIDEAE. Syn.: Erythrophleum gabunensis Taub. Trade and local names: adoum, bokoka (CM); African "greenheart" (CM, GB); bouémon (CI); oduma, edoum (GA); adadua, benya, denya (GH); n'duma (CG). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 8 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical Africa.
General. Growth ring boundaries indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown, red, green (yellowish brown, often with a greenish tinge; darkening to reddish brown with an olive tinge); with streaks. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour distinct (unpleasant when green), or indistinct or absent (dry wood). Density 0.77–1.1 g/cm³. With strongly interlocked grain.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 130–260–330 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 1–4(–7). Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 7–10 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Helical thickenings absent. Other deposits present (orange to red to brown).
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma not banded. Axial parenchyma paratracheal. Paratracheal axial parenchyma vasicentric, aliform, and confluent. Aliform parenchyma of the lozenge type. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2–6.
Rays. Rays 5–12 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2–5 cells wide. Aggregate rays absent. Height of large rays up to 500 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular); homocellular ray cells procumbent.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Oil and mucilage cells absent. Intercellular canals absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood fluorescent. Water extract not fluorescent; colour of water extract red. Ethanol extract not fluorescent. Colour of ethanol extract red. Splinter burns to partial ash. Ash white to grey.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images. transverse (ca. 10x). radial (natural size). • 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’.
