| | Commercial timbers |
Nomenclature etc. FABACEAE-FABOIDEAE. Trade and local names: sui yvá (PY), ceibo de monte (BO); ceibo jujeño (AR); cuñuri, pisonay (PE); Korallenbaum (DE); Brazilian coral tree (US); cortizeira da serra, eritrina, suinã (BR). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical South America, southern Brazil, temperate South America.
General. Heartwood basically brown, yellow, white or grey. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Density 0.3–0.45 g/cm³. Wood very limited of commercial potential.
Vessels. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Vessel outline rounded, or angular. Average tangential vessel diameter 180–350 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 2–5. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 7–10(–12) µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres very thin-walled, or of medium wall thickness. Fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls, simple to minutely bordered.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Axial parenchyma bands much wider than rays. Bands coarse. Axial parenchyma fusiform, or as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2.
Rays. Rays 2–4 per tangential mm, few exclusively uniseriate or multiseriate, (1–)2–8(–12) cells wide. Rays of one size. Height of large rays commonly over 1000 µm. Rays composed of two or more cell types (heterocellular). Heterocellular rays with square and upright cells restricted to marginal rows, mostly 1 marginal row of upright or square cells or mostly 2–4 marginal rows of upright or square cells. Sheath cells present.
Storied structures. Storied structure present, some rays storied, some not, axial parenchyma storied, vessel elements storied, fibres storied. Number of ray tiers per axial millimetre 3–5.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells and axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square and procumbent, upright and/or square ray cells chambered. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
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’.
