| | Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. SAPOTACEAE. Syn.: Breviea leptosperma Heine. Trade and local names: longhi (DE, FR), aninguéri, anigré, agnégré (FR), aningeria (GB), kali (DE), grogoli, koandio, osam (CI), mukali (AO), mukalla (CG), inon, agwa (NG). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 1 specimen. Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical Africa.
General. Heartwood basically white or grey to yellow. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Density 0.55–0.65 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels arranged in a diagonal and/or radial pattern (radial), in multiples, commonly in radial rows of 4 or more. Average tangential vessel diameter 45–73–100 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 17–23. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 3–5 µm. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders and with reduced borders or apparently simple, similar to intervessel pits or different from intervessel pits, horizontal to vertical, of uniform size or type and of two distinct sizes or types in the same ray cell, of the same type in adjacent elements and unilaterally compound and coarse. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids sporadic to absent. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded or not banded. Bands marginal (or seemingly marginal) or not marginal (or seemingly marginal). Axial parenchyma bands forming a reticulate pattern with rays. Bands fine. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. Axial parenchyma as strands.
Rays. Rays 9–14 per tangential mm, multiseriate, (1–)2–3 cells wide. Rays with multiseriate portions as wide as uniseriate portions present. 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, mostly 2–4 marginal rows of upright or square cells and with more than 4 marginal rows of upright or square cells.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, in form of crystal sand, located in tyloses. Crystal sand observed in tyloses only. Silica present, as grains; in rays cells. Silica particles always embedded in reddish brown gums; larger in marginal cells, smaller in procumbent cells.
Physical and chemical tests. Froth test positive.
Illustrations. • Transverse section. • Tangential section. • Radial section. • Silica. silica grains in marginal ray cells, commonly embedded in organic matter.
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’.
