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Nomenclature etc. FABACEAE-FABOIDEAE. Trade and local names: sitsal, beete (IN); sonobrits (ID); palissandre d'Inde (FR); Bombay blackwood, East Indian rosewood, Indian blackwood, Indonesian rosewood (GB). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 6 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indomalesia.
General. Heartwood basically brown and purple; with streaks. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour distinct. Density 0.77–0.88–0.93 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows and in radial rows of 4 or more. Average tangential vessel diameter 80–125–175 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 4–8. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 7–10 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Other deposits present (brown-violet).
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length short. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded and not banded. Bands marginal (or seemingly marginal) and not marginal (or seemingly marginal). Axial parenchyma bands much wider than rays. Bands fine and coarse. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse and diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma vasicentric, aliform, and confluent. Aliform parenchyma of the lozenge type and of the winged type. Axial parenchyma fusiform, or as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2(–4).
Rays. Rays 8–12 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 1–3(–4) cells wide. Height of large rays up to 500 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular); homocellular ray cells procumbent.
Storied structures. Storied structure present, all rays storied, axial parenchyma storied, vessel elements storied, fibres storied. Arrangement of tiers regular. Number of ray tiers per axial millimetre 4–6.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in infrequent ray cells or axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing ray cells procumbent. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract fluorescent (pale yellow); colour of water extract colourless to brown. Heartwood extractives not leachable by water. Ethanol extract fluorescent (yellowish). Colour of ethanol extract red and purple. Froth test positive. 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’.
