Canarium spp. - SE Asia (Kedongdong)
Nomenclature etc. BURSERACEAE. E.g. Canarium hirsutum Willd., C. indicum L., C. littorale Bl., C. luzonicum (Bl.) A. Gray. other timbers of Burseraceae genera are equally traded as Kedongdong, e.g. Dacryodes, Garuga, Protium, Santiria, Scutinanthe, and Triomma. Trade and local names: kedongdong (SE Asia); kenari, kerantai (RI); kerantai, upi, seladah (MAL); canarium, galip (PNG); pili, pilingliitan, pagsahingin (RP); makoem (T); tram (VN). Status of protection under CITES regulations: not protected.
Description based on: 5 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia to Indomalesia.
General. Growth ring boundaries indistinct or absent. Heartwood basically light to pinkish brown to red, without streaks. Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour, or distinct from heartwood colour. Odour indistinct or absent. Basic specific gravity 0.35–0.75 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 120–200(–280) µm. Average tangential diameter of vessel lumina large to very large. Average number of vessels/mm² 6–15. Vessels per square millimetre few. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 8–12 µm, medium to large, not vestured. Typically hexagonal and compacted. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, rounded or angular and horizontal to vertical, of uniform size or type or of two distinct sizes or types in the same ray cell. Tyloses in vessels present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres very thin-walled to of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 800–1400 µm. Average fibre length medium. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres exclusively septate. Septate fibres evenly distributed.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma present or absent or extremely rare. Axial parenchyma paratracheal. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty to vasicentric. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per axial parenchyma strand 3–8.
Rays. Rays 3–8 per tangential mm, multiseriate, also if only few, 2–3(–4) cells wide, 2–3 cells wide. 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. Sheath cells absent.
Storied structures. Storied structure absent.
Secretory structures. Oil and mucilage cells absent. Intercellular canals present or absent, non-traumatic origin, radial type. Radial intercellular canals observed in: not observed in:. Laticifers or tanniniferous tubes absent.
Cambial variants. Included phloem absent. Other cambial variants absent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present or not observed, prismatic and druses, located in ray cells or axial parenchyma cells (see comment). Crystal-containing ray cells upright and/or square or procumbent, upright and/or square ray cells chambered or not chambered. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber predominantly one. Crystal containing cells of normal size. Prismatic crystals in upright (chambered and non-chambered) and, occasionally, in procumbent ray cells in: in chambered upright cells and parenchyma strands in: druses occasionally in: crystals not observed in:. Silica present or not observed, as grains, in rays cells or in axial parenchyma or in fibres (see comment). Silica present in: C. asperum, C. hirsutum, C. oleosum (rays); C. euphyllum + C. ovatum (fibres); C. vitiense (rays, axial parenchyma, fibres); silica not observed in: C. acutifolium, C. commune, C. indicum, C. sylvestre, C. vrieseanum.
Miscellaneous. • Transverse section. Canarium indicum.
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).
