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Nomenclature etc. SALICACEAE (FLACOURTIACEAE). Syn.: Gossypiospermum praecox (Griseb.) Wilson. Trade and local names: naranjillo, limoncillo, lima, manzanito (VE); Maracaibo boxwood, West Indian boxwood, Venezuelan boxwood (GB, US); Maracaibo Buchs (DE); buis des Antilles, buis d'Amerique (FR); palo blanco (PR); agraceijo (CU). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: Mexico and Central America, Caribbean, tropical South America.
General. Heartwood basically yellow, white or grey. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Density 0.75–0.9 g/cm³.
Vessels. Vessels present. Wood diffuse porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows or in radial rows of 4 or more. Average tangential vessel diameter 15–35–50 µm. Vessels per square millimetre numerous, or very numerous. Average vessel element length 260–580–860 µm. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 2–4 µm. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Other deposits not observed.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 300–850–1200 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered or distinctly bordered. Fibres septate and non-septate; evenly distributed. Attention: plate-like organic contents in fibre lumina may be mistaken for septa.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma absent or extremely rare.
Rays. Rays 15–20 per tangential mm (including uniseriate rays; number of multiseriates 8–13/mm), multiseriate, (1–)2–3(–4) cells wide. Rays of two distinct sizes. Height of large rays commonly 500 to 1000 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 or with more than 4 marginal rows of upright or square cells. Disjunctive ray parenchyma end walls indistinct or absent. Multiseriate rays often fused vertically.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square or procumbent, upright and/or square ray cells chambered or not chambered. Crystals in procumbent ray cells not in radial alignment. 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’.
