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Nomenclature etc. MORACEAE. Trade and local names: bagassa (DE); fustik (GY); moral (EC); amapá-rana, bagaceira, amoreira, garrote (BR); bagasse, bagasse jaune, bois jaune (FR, GF), gele bagasse (NL, SR). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Description based on 4 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: northern tropical South America.
General. Heartwood basically brown, yellow (yellowish brown when fresh, darkening to deep copper brown). Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Density 0.75–0.8 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 (155–)225–290 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 1–4. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 8–10 µm. 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. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 800–1500 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma not banded. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma vasicentric, or aliform. Aliform parenchyma of the lozenge type. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: 2–5.
Rays. Rays 4–7 per tangential mm, multiseriate, 2–4 cells wide. Height of large rays up to 500 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. Sheath cells absent.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent. Laticifers or tanniniferous tubes lacticifers, few present.
Cambial variants. Included phloem absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells and axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square and procumbent. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells not chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract fluorescent (light greenish blue); colour of water extract colourless to brown. Ethanol extract fluorescent (light blue). Colour of ethanol extract colourless to brown. Froth test positive, or negative. Splinter burns to full ash. Ash white to grey.
Illustrations. • Macroscopic images. transverse (ca. 10x). radial (natural size). tangential (natural size). • Transverse section. Bagassa guianensis. • Tangential section. Bagassa guianensis. • Radial section. Bagassa guianensis. • Latex tubes; crystals. Bagassa guianensis. latex tube in tangential (left) and radial (center) view. prismatic crystals predominantly, but not exclusively, in marginal ray cells.
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’.
