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| Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. RHIZOPHORACEAE. Syn.: Ceriops candolliana Wight & Arn.; C. timoriensis Domin; C. boiviniana Tul.; Rhizophora tagal Perr.; R. timoriensis DC. Trade and local names: engar, tangar (MY); tingi, tonggi, tungud, palun, bido-bido (ID); prong, prong deng, plong, me (TH); kabiang (MM); mada (IN-and); goran, guttia, chauri (IN); tangal, tagasa, tigasan (PH); spurred mangrove (AU); mkaka (TZ); mkandaa, mkoko mtune, mkoko mwekundu (eAfr). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 4 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indomalesia, Pacific Islands, Australia, tropical Africa, Madagascar & other islands, southern Africa.
General. Heartwood basically brown to red (often with orange hues). Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Density 0.8–0.9 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows or in radial rows of 4 or more. Average tangential vessel diameter 20–50 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 25–35. Average vessel element length 300–450 µm. Perforation plates scalariform, with 5–10 bars. Bars few and thick. Intervessel pits scalariform. Perforations strongly inclined and long, very fine bars. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, different from intervessel pits, rounded or angular, unilaterally compound and coarse. Crossfield pits "unilaterally compound and large" throughout.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres very thick-walled. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, distinctly bordered.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse and diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty, or vasicentric. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 3–7.
Rays. Rays 9–16 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2–6 cells wide. Height of large rays commonly over 1000 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular) to two or more cell types (heterocellular); homocellular ray cells procumbent. Heterocellular rays with square and upright cells restricted to marginal rows, mostly 1 marginal row of upright or square cells.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells. Crystal-containing ray cells procumbent. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
Illustrations. • Transverse section. • Tangential section. • Radial section. scalariform perforation plate with few bars.
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’.
