9E 



Ochnaceae 

 '2he Large-leaved Gesi;ede3ia 



Ges^vedesia macrophylla Seeraaiiii, 3ot, Voy. Herald: 97. 1853, 



Descrli-iticn of the tree 



>^ 



A tree about 2C ra. high and up to 60 cm. in diameter; 

 the trunk and limbs covered with a dark, more or less scaly 

 bark, the limbs lax^ge, dividing only near the end, the crov/n 

 flattened, umbrella-like. Leaves clustered at the ends of 

 the branchlets, glabrous, very large, coriaceous, the pe- 

 tioles 2 to 3.5 Giji. long, the blades obovate-Sjjatulate, 25 

 to 70 cm. long, 10 to 24 cm. bread, the costa and veins pro- 

 minent on both sides, the margin mucronate-dentate. Panni- 

 cles erect, divaricate, 50 to 140 cm. long; flowers usiiaily 

 geminate, the ^jedicels 1 to 1.5 cm. long; sepals 5, coria- 

 ceous, 3 to 4 mm. long, persistent; petals obovate, 16 .mm. 

 long, 10 to 11 mm. broad, bright yellov/; stamens numerous, 

 the anthers linear, basifixed; ovary sti^jitate, 5-celled, 

 many-ovulate, surmounted by a short style. 



Description of the \.'cod 



Sapwood thick, dark reddish-brown; heartwood slightly 

 darker, ,/ood hard, heavy, strong, cross-grained and diffi- 

 cult to split, fine grained, taking a good polish, /.nnual 

 rings of growth not visible even under the high pov/er micros- 

 cope. 



Pores (transverse section) very n.imerous, rather small 

 ( .14 mm. in diamet^er) , round, open, or closed v/ith whitish 

 tyloses, arranged singly or in short radial rows. Vesael 

 (^'.valls (longitudinal sectionp v/ith numerous small sim^^le and 

 bordered pits with slit-like openings which join horizon- 

 tally and foi'm fine horizontal lines especially in tangen- 

 tial sections; in radial sections large, round, siraj_>le, some- 

 times elliptical pits ^.resent. V/ood fibers about 1.43 mm. 

 long, with very thick walls, small lumina , and minute simple 

 pits. 'Tood parenchyma very sparingly develox.ed. liays very 

 numerous and plainly visible under hand lens on a smooth 





