Commercial timbers

H. G. Richter and M. J. Dallwitz


Mangifera indica L., Mangifera spp. (Machang)

Nomenclature etc. ANACARDIACEAE. Including: M. foetida, M. caloneura, M. altissima, M. salomonensis, M. mucronulata. Trade and local names: Machang (MAL); sepam, tiger wood, figured asam (MAL,RI); asam (MAL-Sab); mangga, mango (IND);.

Tree. Geographic distribution: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, or Burma, or Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, or Indomalesia (as fruit tree cultivated worldwide in tropical regions).

General. Growth ring boundaries indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown brown to white or grey, with streaks or without streaks. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour, or distinct from heartwood colour. Odour indistinct or absent. Basic specific gravity 0.52–0.7 g/cm³. Formation of dark brown heartwood with nearly black stripes is of facultative occurrence and quite common in some species; such wood is often traded as "tigerwood".

Vessels. Wood diffuse-porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, in multiples, commonly short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Two distinct vessel diameter classes absent. Average tangential vessel diameter 160–280 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 3–6. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 10–13 µm. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, rounded or angular or horizontal to vertical, of uniform size or type, of the same type in adjacent elements, located throughout the ray. Helical thickenings absent. Tyloses in vessels present, thinwalled. Other deposits in heartwood vessels present (dark reddish brown).

Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids sporadic to absent. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres non-septate.

Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Axial parenchyma bands marginal (or seemingly marginal), fine, up to three cells wide. Axial parenchyma paratracheal. Paratracheal axial parenchyma aliform, or confluent. Aliform parenchyma lozenge. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per axial parenchyma strand 4–8.

Rays. Rays 8–12 per tangential mm, multiseriate, also if only few, 1–3 cells wide. Rays with multiseriate portions as wide as uniseriate portions present, or absent. Aggregate rays absent. Rays of one size. Rays composed of two or more cell types. Heterocellular rays square and upright cells restricted to marginal rows. Number of marginal rows of upright or square cells 1. Sheath cells absent. Tile cells absent. Perforated ray cells absent. Disjunctive ray parenchyma end walls indistinct or absent. Rays on average quite low, individual cells rather large.

Storied structures. Storied structure absent.

Secretory structures. Oil and mucilage cells absent. Intercellular canals absent. Laticifers or tanniniferous tubes absent.

Cambial variants. Included phloem absent. Other cambial variants 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 not chambered. Crystals in procumbent ray cells not in radial alignment. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one, or more than one. Crystals in one cell or chamber of the same size, or of two distinct sizes. Crystal containing cells of normal size. Cystoliths absent. Silica not observed.


Cite this publication as: H. G. Richter and M. J. Dallwitz (2000 onwards). 'Commercial timbers: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval.' In English, French, German, and Spanish. Version: 4th May 2000. http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/.

Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993 onwards, 1995 onwards, 1998) should also be cited (see General references).

Index