| | Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. FABACEAE-FABOIDEAE. Trade and local names: Afrikanisches Padouk, Afrikanisches Korallenholz (DE), legno corallo (IT), African padouk, barwood, camwood (GB), bois corail, padouk (FR), Africaans padoek (NL), takula (AO), m'bel, Ebeu (GA), palo rojo (GQ), ba, corail, epion, mohingué, muengé, ndimbo (CM), boisulu, kisésé, mukala (CG), ngula, wele (CD), arapka, osun (NG). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical Africa.
General. Heartwood basically red to yellow, brown to red to purple, brown to yellow (strikingly orange to redbrown, fading to yellowish brown upon exposure); occasionally with streaks. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour distinct (weakly like vanilla). Density 0.6–0.7–0.8 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Two distinct vessel diameter classes absent. Average tangential vessel diameter 115–230–295 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 1–2. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) (8–)9–12(–13) µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders or with reduced borders or apparently simple, similar to intervessel pits or different from intervessel pits, rounded or angular. Helical thickenings absent. Other deposits present (orange brown).
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 1035–1380–1660 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Bands marginal (or seemingly marginal). Bands fine. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal (short tangential lines without contact to vessels). Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse and diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma aliform and confluent. Aliform parenchyma of the winged type. Axial parenchyma fusiform and as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2.
Rays. Rays 12–17 per tangential mm, exclusively uniseriate. 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 3–5.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent.
Cambial variants. Included phloem 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. Crystal containing cells of normal size. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract not fluorescent; colour of water extract colourless to brown, or red (very light orange brown). Ethanol extract fluorescent (faint greenish blue). Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown, or red. Froth test positive. Splinter burns to partial ash, or to charcoal. Ash white to grey.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images: cross section. transverse (ca. 10x). • Macroscopic images: wood surface. surface (natural size). tangential. radial. • 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’.
