Mammea africana Sabine (Oboto)
Nomenclature etc. CLUSIACEAE. Syn.: Ochrocarpus africanus (Sabine) Oliv. Trade and local names: Djimbo (CI); bom pegya (GH); ologbomidu (WAN); abotzok (CAM); oboto, ebornzork (G); m'bossi, libu (RPC); bokoli, m'boza, boliki (ZRE); mammee-apple (GB); abricotier d'Afrique (F). Status of protection under CITES regulations: not protected.
Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical Africa.
General. Growth ring boundaries indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically brown red. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour indistinct or absent. Basic specific gravity 0.6–0.75 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse-porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, exclusively solitary. Average tangential vessel diameter 140–250(–280) µm. Average tangential diameter of vessel lumina large to very large. Average number of vessels/mm² 2–11. Vessels per square millimetre very few to few. Average vessel element length 300–800 µm. Average vessel element length medium. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate (very rare), average diameter (vertical) 5–8 µm, small to medium. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, different from intervessel pits, rounded or angular. Helical thickenings absent. Tyloses in vessels present, thinwalled. Other deposits in heartwood vessels present (rare, reddish brown, in tyloses).
Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids commonly present. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 1350–1900(–2600) µm. Average fibre length long. Fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls, distinctly bordered (large, up to 7µm). Helical thickenings absent. Fibres non-septate. Fibre lumens often filled with dark reddish brown gum deposits.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma not banded. Axial parenchyma apotracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse to diffuse-in-aggregates. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per axial parenchyma strand 2–9.
Rays. Rays 7–11 per tangential mm, multiseriate, also if only few, 1–3 cells wide, 2–3 cells wide. Rays with multiseriate portions as wide as uniseriate portions present, or absent. Rays of one size. Height of large rays up to 500 µm. 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 to more than 4. Perforated ray cells absent. Uniseriate rays frequent, composed exclusively of square and upright cells.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Oil and mucilage cells absent. Intercellular canals present, radial type. Radial intercellular canals of variable frequency, very large. Laticifers or tanniniferous tubes absent.
Cambial variants. Included phloem absent. Other cambial variants absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. 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).