PANAMA MAHOGANY 



No. 29. PANAMA MAHOGANY. (Probably 

 Cedrela sp.). 



Plate III. Fig. 22. 



Natural Order. Meliacese. 



To this type belong St. Domingo, City St. Domingo and 

 Cuba Mahoganies. 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight, 29J lbs.~35j : 

 Splits unusually easily and cleanly. Hardness Grade 6, firm, com- 

 pare Oak. Smell or taste none. Burns well : embers glow in 

 still air. Solution the colour of the wood. 



Grain. Smooth, very fine, and even. Surface lustrous, often 

 " watered " or satiny. 



Bark. ? 



Colour. Red, brick-red, golden-red : not banded, nearly 

 uniform. Sap-wood ? 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Conspicuous on account of their white borders. Size I, 

 few, 1-8 per sq. mm. : appear light in the solid wood against 

 the dark ground. 



Rays. Minute, need lens, size 5, fine, uniform : long, almost 

 too thin to taper : bright red : less dense than the ground- tissue : 

 weak but rarely avoiding the pores : not sinuous in long waves. 

 4-7 per mm; 



Rings. Clear here and there, a zone free from pores : well 

 rounded : see Soft-tissue. 



Soft-tissue. Conspicuous, fine, light-coloured lines, size 3, 

 concentric : also encircling the pores. 



Pith. ? 



Radial Section. Somewhat darker than the Tangential 

 section and considerably darker than the Transverse section. 

 Pores, fine, glistening, cellular lines often filled with red or black 

 resin : frequently in pairs or threes. Rays, small but a pretty 

 silver-grain : dull : lighter than the ground. Soft-tissue, in 

 long, fine whitish lines and prominent, hoary borders to the 

 pores. 



Tangential Section as the Radial, but the pores appear finer and 

 the rays as minute lines upon the limit of vision. The soft-tissue, 

 broadens out at the edges of the loops and thus gives some bands 

 a hoary cast which is the chief feature of this wood. 



In the St. Domingo variety there are signs of a loose Pore- 

 ring indicated by the coarser fringes in Tangential section, 

 bordering the loops. 



Type specimens from commercial sources : not authenticated. 



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