Liquidambar styraciflua L. (Red gum, sweet gum)
Nomenclature etc. HAMAMELIDACEAE. Trade and local names: Red gum, sweet gum, ambar wood, tassel wood (USA); Amberbaum, Satin-Nuss, (D); estoraque, liquidambar, ocozotl (MEX); satén (E, HCA).
Tree. Geographic distribution: North America to Mexico and Central America.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct. Heartwood basically brown to red, with streaks (black). Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour indistinct or absent. Basic specific gravity 0.44–0.55 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse-porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, in multiples, commonly short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Vessel outline angular. Average tangential vessel diameter 40–70 µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 100–170. Perforation plates scalariform, with 20–30 bars. Intervessel pits scalariform or opposite, average diameter (vertical) 6–9 µm, vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits or different from intervessel pits, of two distinct sizes or types in the same ray cell. Helical thickenings present, in narrow and wide vessel elements, only in vessel element tails. Tyloses in vessels present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids commonly present. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls, distinctly bordered. Helical thickenings absent. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma paratracheal. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per axial parenchyma strand 5–7.
Rays. Rays 9–13 per tangential mm, multiseriate, also if only few, 1–3 cells wide. 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, or 2–4.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Oil and mucilage cells absent. Intercellular canals present, traumatic origin, axial type, in long tangential lines or in short tangential lines.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals not observed. Prismatic crystals in upright/square and procumbent ray cells observed only in Liquidambar formosana (S.China, Taiwan). 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).