Dalbergia maritima Vig. (Madagascar bois de rose)
Nomenclature etc. PAPILIONACEAE. Trade and local names: bois de rose. Status of protection under CITES regulations: not protected.
Description based on: 3 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: Madagascar & other islands.
General. Growth ring boundaries indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically red, with streaks. Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Odour distinct.
Vessels. Vessels present. Wood diffuse-porous. Vessels arranged in no specific pattern, in multiples, commonly short (2–3 vessels) radial rows and radial rows of 4 or more. Vessel outline rounded. Two distinct vessel diameter classes absent. Average tangential vessel diameter 80–200–300 µm. Average tangential diameter of vessel lumina large and very large. Average number of vessels/mm² 1–4. Vessels per square millimetre very few. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 10–13 µm, large, vestured. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits, of uniform size or type, of the same type in adjacent elements, located throughout the ray. Helical thickenings absent. Tyloses in vessels absent. Other deposits in heartwood vessels present, dark red organic deposits in vessels.
Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids sporadic to absent. Fibres of medium wall thickness and very thick-walled. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Helical thickenings absent. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma present, banded. Axial parenchyma bands marginal (or seemingly marginal) and not marginal (or seemingly marginal), bands much wider than rays, fine, up to three cells wide. Axial parenchyma apotracheal and paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse and diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty and vasicentric. Axial parenchyma fusiform and as strands. Average number of cells per axial parenchyma strand 1–2(–4).
Rays. Rays present, 7–12 per tangential mm, exclusively uniseriate. Aggregate rays absent. Rays of one size. Height of large rays up to 500 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type. Homocellular ray cells procumbent. Tile cells absent. Perforated ray cells absent. Disjunctive ray parenchyma end walls indistinct or absent.
Storied structures. Storied structure present, all rays storied, axial parenchyma storied, vessel elements storied, fibres storied. Arrangement of tiers regular (horizontal or straight). Number of ray tiers per axial millimetre 3.5–4.5.
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 axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Crystal containing cells of normal size. Cystoliths absent. Silica not observed.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract fluorescent. Water extract basically colourless to brown or shade of brown. Heartwood extractives leaching out when in contact with water. Ethanol extract fluorescent. Ethanol extract basically red or shade of red. Chrome azurol-S test negative. Froth test negative. Splinter burns to charcoal.
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).