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Nomenclature etc. MORACEAE. Syn.: Chlorophora excelsa (Welw.) Benth., Morus excelsa Welw. Trade and local names: odum (GH, CI), abang, bang (CM), amoreira (AO), chamfutu (MZ), semli (LR), rokko (NG), lusanga (CD). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical Africa (east and west).
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct (sometimes demarcated by marginal parenchyma bands) or indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown to yellow to green. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Density 0.48–0.67–0.8 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 145–235–310 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 1–3(–10). Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 9–12 µm. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, different from intervessel pits, rounded or angular. Helical thickenings absent. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 590–1320–2030 µm. Fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded (at irregular intervals). Bands marginal (or seemingly marginal). Bands fine. 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: 4.
Rays. Rays 3–9 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 3–4 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.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent. Laticifers or tanniniferous tubes present (lacticifers, sporadically).
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells and axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells not chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one, or more than one. Crystals in one cell or chamber of the same size, or of two distinct sizes. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract not fluorescent; colour of water extract colourless to brown, or yellow. Heartwood extractives leachable when in contact with water. Ethanol extract fluorescent (bluish violet). Colour of ethanol extract red, or yellow. Froth test positive. Splinter burns to full ash. Ash white to grey.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images. transverse (ca. 10x). tangential (natural size). • Transverse section. • Tangemtial section. • Radial section. • Latex tubes; crystals. latex tubes in rays (rare). prismatic crystals in marginal ray cells.
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’.
