Commercial Timbers
| Commercial Timbers | |
Nomenclature etc. MORACEAE. Including Brosimum costaricanum. Trade and local names: capomo, ramón (MX); charo amarillo. Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 5 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: Caribbean, or Mexico and Central America to tropical South America.
General. Heartwood basically yellow white or grey. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Basic specific gravity 0.6–0.7 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse-porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 40–130 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 6–20. Average vessel element length 220–640 µm. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 5–7 µm. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits. Tyloses in vessels absent.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 940–1710 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma present, not banded. Axial parenchyma paratracheal. Paratracheal axial parenchyma aliform to confluent, or unilateral. Aliform parenchyma winged. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per axial parenchyma strand 3–4.
Rays. Rays 6–12 per tangential mm, multiseriate (also if only few), 3–4 cells wide. 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.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Laticifers or tanniniferous tubes present (latex tubes in rays).
Cambial variants. Included phloem absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square and procumbent, upright and/or square ray cells chambered. Crystals in procumbent ray cells in radial alignment, or not in radial alignment. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one, or more than one. Crystals in one cell or chamber of two distinct sizes. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract fluorescent, or not fluorescent (light blue); basically colourless to brown or shade of brown to yellow or shade of yellow. Ethanol extract fluorescent, or not fluorescent. Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown or shade of brown.
Illustrations. • Transverse Macro. Brosimum alicastrum.. • Transverse section. Brosimum alicastrum.. • Tangential section. Brosimum alicastrum.. • Radial section. Brosimum alicastrum..
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: 16th April 2006. http://delta-intkey.com’.
