Calophyllum brasiliense Camb. (Jacareúba, palo de maría)
Nomenclature etc. GUTTIFERAE. Trade and local names: arary (PY); santa maría, palo de maría, leche maría, maría. Status of protection under CITES regulations: not protected.
Description based on: 7 specimens. Tree. Geographic distribution: Mexico and Central America and tropical South America.
General. Heartwood basically red to yellow (pink or yellowish pink to brick red). Sapwood colour similar to heartwood colour, or distinct from heartwood colour (sapwood lighter in color and not always clearly differentiated from heartwood). Basic specific gravity 0.5–0.65 g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood diffuse-porous. Vessels arranged in diagonal and/or radial pattern, exclusively solitary. Average tangential vessel diameter (80–)130–220(–290) µm. Average number of vessels/mm² 4–10. Average vessel element length 280–670–1170 µm. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 5 µm. Vessel-ray pits with distinct borders, similar to intervessel pits, of uniform size or type.
Tracheids and fibres. Vascular or vasicentric tracheids commonly present. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 780–1280–1670 µm. Fibre pits common in both radial and tangential walls, distinctly bordered. Fibres non-septate.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Axial parenchyma bands marginal (or seemingly marginal), fine, up to three cells wide or coarse, more than three cells wide. Axial parenchyma paratracheal. Paratracheal axial parenchyma vasicentric. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per axial parenchyma strand 5–8.
Rays. Rays 9–19 per tangential mm, exclusively uniseriate. 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.
Secretory structures. Intercellular canals 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.
Physical and chemical tests. Heartwood not fluorescent. Water extract fluorescent (very light blue). Water extract basically colourless to brown or shade of brown. Ethanol extract fluorescent (very light blue). Ethanol extract basically colourless to brown or shade of brown.
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).