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| Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. FABACEAE-FABOIDEAE. Trade and local names: Rio Jacarandá, Brasilianisches Rosenholz (DE); palissandre Brésil, palissandre Rio (FR); cabiúna, camboré, caviuna legitima, jacarandá, pau preto, urauna (BR); palissandro (IT); palisandro (ES); palissander Rio (NL). Listed in CITES Annex I.
Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical South America (North-eastern Brazil, from southern Bahia to northern São Paulo, west to Minas Gerais).
General. Heartwood basically brown to red to black; with streaks (black). Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour distinct (aromatic, sweet). Density 0.7–0.8–0.9 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 75–175–250 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 1–2–4. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 8–11 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits predominantly with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Other deposits present (dark brown).
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 1130–1350–1600 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Contents mostly brown.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Bands marginal (or seemingly marginal). Bands fine. Axial parenchyma apotracheal and paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse and diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma vasicentric (also weakly aliform and paratracheal unilateral). Axial parenchyma fusiform and as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2(–3).
Rays. Rays 9–12 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2–3 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. Number of ray tiers per axial millimetre 5–6.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells (infrequent) 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 not fluorescent; colour of water extract colourless to brown, or red. Heartwood extractives leachable when in contact with water. Ethanol extract fluorescent (greenish blue). Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown, or red. Froth test positive. Splinter burns to full ash, or to partial ash. Ash white to grey.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images. transverse (ca. 10x). tangential (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’.
