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Nomenclature etc. CAESALPINACEAE. Syn.: Caesalpinia melanocarpa Griseb. Trade and local names: yvyra vera (PY); guayacán, ibirá-verá (AR). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 3 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical South America, southern Brazil, temperate South America.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct (demarcated by 1–2 seriate marginal parenchyma bands) or indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown, red, black, and purple; without streaks. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour indistinct or absent. Density 0.95–1.2 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 28–70–140 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 5–25. Average vessel element length 200–250 µm. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 7–10 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Helical thickenings absent. Other deposits present (light to dark brown, abundant).
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres very thick-walled. Average fibre length 800 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Helical thickenings absent. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Bands marginal (or seemingly marginal). Bands fine. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse and diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma vasicentric, aliform, and confluent. Aliform parenchyma of the lozenge type. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2–4.
Rays. Rays 7–9 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2–3 cells wide. 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 4–5.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells and axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing ray cells procumbent. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Only few crystals in rays; in axial parenchyma considerable differences in size of cells and crystals exist between individual chains. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood extractives not leachable by water. Froth test negative.
Illustrations. • 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’.
