NATAL MAHOGAN 



Colour. White, greyish to yellowishj uniform : no difference 

 between sap- and heart-wood. 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section: — 



Pores. Need lens, uniform and evenly distributed : here 

 and there a zone poorer in pores : single or in compact radial 

 groups of as many as 8 : numerous, 80-140 per sq. mm. : round : 

 a tendency to a linear arrangement between the rays. 



Rays. Just visible, size 5-6, uniform and equidistant : straight 

 or curved but not avoiding the pores : numerous, 6-10 per sq. 

 mm. : long, rarely tapeiing : less dense than the ground-tissue : 

 white : a pore- width or more apart. (The Jamaica variety has 

 rays with two rows of rectangular cells.) 



Rings. Very doubtful : at most a line of contrast between 

 zones richer or poorer in pores. 



Soft-tissue. Abundant and characteristic : fine white lines 

 linking the rays like the rungs of a ladder : need lens : width 

 finer than size 6 : also many isolated wide-meshed cells (or 

 patches in the Cuban variety) or cells arranged in radial lines : 

 also neatly and very narrowly encircling the pores. 



There are often jet-black patches like ebony resembling flakes ; 

 (see Fig. 179, Plate XXII), but which do not distort the structure 

 in any way. 



Radial Section. Pores inconspicuous giooves, often shining ; 

 rays ; fine whitish flakes verv inconspicuous, dull ; rings ; mostly 

 indistinct but occasionally traceable : the black areas appear as 

 very sharply defined black lines when present. 



Tangential Section. Rays invisible without micro., fine line 

 about o - 5 mm. high. 



No. 3. NATAL MAHOGANY. Kiggelaria Dregeana. 



Turcz. 

 Plate I. Fig. 3. 



Natural Order. Bixinese. 



Synonyms. K. glandulosa, Salisb. K. integrifolia, Jacq. 



Source of Supply. South Africa, Natal. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight, 48 lbs. per 

 cu. ft. Hardness Grade 7, compare English Birch. Taste none. 

 Smell none when dry. Burns moderately well with a peculiar 

 and somewhat unpleasant aroma, embers glow in still air, heat 

 expels a brown gum. Solution rich, the colour of the wood, 

 deepening upon the addition of potash. 



Bark. Greyish-brown, about \ inch thick with fine, shallow 

 fissures : closely adherent : has a smooth appearance at a distance : 

 whitish internally and full of whitish-brown rods arranged in 

 radial rows between the rays which are continued into the bark. 



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