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Nomenclature etc. VERBENACEAE. Incl. Gmelina moluccana (Blume) Backer ex K. Heyne. Trade and local names: melina (trade); gumhar, Malay beechwood (GB); yemani, mai saw (MM); so, so-maeo (TH). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka (cultivated worldwide, particularly in Southeast Asia, West Africa, South America).
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct or indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown, yellow to white or grey. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Density 0.4–0.6 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood semi ring porous or diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 130–240 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 3–6(–12). Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 7–9 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 or horizontal to vertical. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres very thin-walled, or of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 700–1500 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres exclusively septate; evenly distributed.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma paratracheal. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty, or vasicentric. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2–8.
Rays. Rays 5–13 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2–5 cells wide. Height of large rays up to 500 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular), or two or more cell types (heterocellular) (occasionally); homocellular ray cells procumbent. Heterocellular rays with square and upright cells restricted to marginal rows, mostly 1 marginal row of upright or square cells. Some rays seemingly heterocellular due to presence of one marginal row of taller yet procumbent cells.
Secretory structures. Oil and mucilage cells absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, needle-like (acicular), located in ray cells. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square and procumbent. Number of crystals per cell or chamber more than one. Silica present, as vitreous silica; in axial parenchyma, in fibres (only Gmelina moluccana).
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract not fluorescent; colour of water extract colourless to brown. Ethanol extract not fluorescent. Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown. Splinter burns to full ash. 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’.
