Commercial timbers

H. G. Richter and M. J. Dallwitz


Irvingia gabonensis Baill., Irvingia spp. (Dika)

Nomenclature etc. IRVINGIACEAE. Plus Irvingia barteri, I. grandifolia. Trade and local names: Dika bread-tree, wild or African Mango tree (trade); meba, mueba (ZRE); botuba, bopala, etu (CAM); mombulu (RPC); dika, udika (G); agbono, ogwe, oro etc. (WAN). Status of protection under CITES regulations: not protected.

Tree. Geographic distribution: tropical Africa.

General. Growth ring boundaries indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically light brown yellow to white or grey, without streaks. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour. Odour indistinct or absent. Basic specific gravity 0.64–0.75 g/cm³.

Vessels. Wood diffuse-porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, in multiples, commonly short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 145–220(–300) µm. Average tangential diameter of vessel lumina large to very large. Average number of vessels/mm² (2–)3–5(–7). Vessels per square millimetre very few to few. Average vessel element length 400–650(–800) µm. Average vessel element length medium. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 7–10 µm, medium, not vestured. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, rounded or angular or horizontal to vertical, of uniform size or type or of two distinct sizes or types in the same ray cell, of the same type in adjacent elements or unilaterally compound and coarse. Helical thickenings absent. Tyloses in vessels present. Other deposits in heartwood vessels not observed.

Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids sporadic to absent. Fibres of medium wall thickness to very thick-walled. Average fibre length 1650–2200 µm. Average fibre length long. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Helical thickenings absent. Fibres non-septate.

Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Axial parenchyma bands not marginal (or seemingly marginal), bands much wider than rays, coarse, more than three cells wide. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per axial parenchyma strand 6–13.

Rays. Rays 7–11 per tangential mm, multiseriate, also if only few, 2–4 cells wide, 2–3 cells wide to commonly 3–5 cells wide. Height of large rays up to 500 µm to commonly 500 to 1000 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type. Homocellular ray cells procumbent. Sheath cells absent. Perforated ray cells absent.

Storied structures. Storied structure absent.

Secretory structures. Intercellular canals absent. Laticifers or tanniniferous tubes absent.

Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in ray cells or axial parenchyma cells or tyloses. Crystal-containing ray cells procumbent. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered, or not 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).

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