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Nomenclature etc. OLEACEAE. Trade and local names: Olive (DE); olive wood (GB); olivier (FR); olivastro (IT); acebuche (ES); zeitun (MA, TN); sejtun (IR). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 4 specimens. Small tree. Geographic distribution: Mediterranean incl. N. Africa and Middle East.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct and indistinct or absent. Demarcated by few rows of thick-walled, radially flattened latewood fibres. Heartwood basically brown and yellow; with streaks. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Density 0.7–0.8 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels arranged in a diagonal and/or radial pattern and no specific pattern, in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows and in radial rows of 4 or more. Average tangential vessel diameter 38–47–61 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 86–131. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 3–4–6 µm. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Tyloses absent. Other deposits present, yellow to amber.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 800 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty and vasicentric. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2–5.
Rays. Rays 7–11 per tangential mm, multiseriate, (1–)2–3 cells wide. Rays with multiseriate portions as wide as uniseriate portions present. 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.
Secretory structures. Oil and mucilage cells absent.
Cambial variants. Included phloem absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, needle-like (acicular), located in ray cells. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square or procumbent. Number of crystals per cell or chamber more than one. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood fluorescent. Water extract fluorescent; colour of water extract colourless to brown. Heartwood extractives leachable when in contact with water. Ethanol extract fluorescent. Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown. Splinter burns to partial ash.
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’.
