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Nomenclature etc. RUBIACEAE. Syn.: Genipa caruto Kunth. Trade and local names: caruto, yagua (cAm, sAm); genipa, marmelade box (US); jenipapeiro, jenipá, janipaba, tapuriba, xaguá (BR); genipayer (HT); maluca (MX); huito, yaco huito, vito, palo colorado (PE); taperipa, arasaloe (SR); genipop (HO); irayo, tambor, tiñedientes (SV); guayatil (PA); tapaculo, yigualti (NI). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 5 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: Mexico and Central America, Caribbean, tropical South America.
General. Heartwood basically brown, yellow, white or grey (brownish or greyish brown, sometimes with a pinkish or yellowish hue). Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Density 0.6–0.75 g/cm³.
Vessels. Vessels present. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels arranged in a diagonal and/or radial pattern, exclusively solitary. Average tangential vessel diameter 47–80 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 27–33. Average vessel element length 410–730 µm. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 5 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits.
Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids commonly present. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 1310–1850 µm. Fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls, distinctly bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse, or diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 5–8.
Rays. Rays 10–15 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2–3 cells wide. 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, with more than 4 marginal rows of upright or square cells. Disjunctive ray parenchyma end walls distinct, or indistinct or absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present or not observed, prismatic, located in ray cells. Crystal-containing ray cells procumbent. Number of crystals per cell or chamber more than one. Crystals in one cell or chamber of two distinct sizes (conglomeration of small crystals, seemingly druses). Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract fluorescent (very light blue); colour of water extract colourless to brown. Ethanol extract not fluorescent. Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown.
Illustrations. • Transverse section. • Tangential section. • Radial section. • Crystals; vasicentric tracheids. occasional presence of micro crystals in ray cells (left) and vasicentric tracheids (right).
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’.
