STINK-WOOD 



Physical Characters, etc. Recorded dry-weight 52 J lbs. per cu, ft. 

 Hardness Grade 5, compare English Alder. Smell none. Taste 

 slightly astringent. Burns well and quietly : an orange-coloured 

 juice is expelled by heat : little or no aroma : embers glow in 

 still air. Solution colourless : white ppt. upon the addition of 

 potash. 



Grain. Very fine and dense. Surface bright. 



Bark. Cinnamon-brown, about \ inch thick separating in thin 

 scales which are seen to be marked off till close against the wood, 

 in alternate light and dark layers. Saws easily : planes easily 

 and well, especially across-grain, i.e. transversely. It works some- 

 thing like Pear Wood. 



Authority. Nordlinger (86), vol. viii. p. 29. 



Colour. Brownish-white or ecru. White (86). A sap-wood 

 tree. 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : — 



Pores. Need lens, size 4, little variation : irregularly scattered 

 between the rays : single or in short groups of 2-7 : few, 20-35 

 per sq. mm. 



Rays. Readily visible, size 5, apparently two sizes, tapering 

 to fine points both ends : " middles," 2-4 per mm., or " middles 

 and ends " together, 14-17 per mm. : stout, not avoiding the 

 pores : lighter and laxer than the ground-tissue. 



Rings. Very doubtful, not easily made out with the lens 

 though apparently clear on a not-too-smooth section. 



Ground-tissue. Composed of cells almost as coarse as the 

 smallest of the pores. 



Pith. " Small, four-lobed, whitish " (86). 



Radial Section. Pores, fine scratches. Rays inconspicuous, 

 usually white or brownish flakes. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays need lens and 

 are rather broad, spindle-shaped lines about ro mm. high. 

 Rings fairly evident as slightly darker loops. 



Type specimens authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of Natal. 



No. 152. STINK-WOOD. Ocotea bullata. E. Mey. 

 Plate XI. Fig. 97. 



Natural Order. Laurineae. 



Synonyms. Oreodaphne bullata. Nees. Laurus bullata. 

 Burch. 



Source of Supply. South Africa. 



Alternative Names. Cape Walnut. Stinkhout. Cannibal 

 Stinkwood (not Camdeboo Stinkwood) : Witte or White Stink- 



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