a large tree and attains a maximum height of 150 feet and a diameter of 5 
feet measured above the low buttresses. 
The Wood 
Because of the variability in color between different trees, three forms or 
types are recognized by the producers. Heartwood that is russet colored when 
freshly cut and becomes superficially dull brown on drying, commonly with a 
purplish cast, is referred to as angelique gris. Heartwood that has a more dis- 
tinctly reddish cast and frequently shows wide bands of purplish color is 
called angelique rouge. And grayish-white colored wood, which apparently 
comes from trees that are late in forming typical heartwood, is called angelique 
blanc . The wood of angelique blanc contains abundant starch deposits, and 
in this respect possesses the characteristics associated with sapwood. 
Only the gris and rouge types are imported into the United States and generally 
no differentiation is made between them. They are delivered without any limi- 
tation as to maximum allowable percentage of one or the other. 
Gross Features 
The grain is generally straight or slightly interlocked. The texture (size 
of pores) is about equal to that of African limba ( Terminalia superb a Engl. 
& Diels) and somewhat coarser than that of American black walnut ( Juglans 
nigra L.). Flat-sawn surfaces usually show a pattern produced by the wood 
parenchyma bands, which appear violet colored against the background color 
of the wood. Storied elements of the wood produce a ripple mark pattern on 
the side -grain surfaces, but this is very small. Quartered material shows 
a more or less distinctive stripe associated with interlocked grain. The 
wood surfaces may appear rather dull, but a definite golden subluster is one 
of the distincitve features of this species. 
Mechanical Properties 
The mechanical properties of angelique are given in table 1 as compared with 
those of teak ( Tectona grandis L.F.) and white oak (Quercus alba L.). The 
values for angelique are based on tests made at Yale University on two trees 
2 
from Surinam and three trees from French Guiana (l, £_) .— The comparative teak 
values are from Tropical Woods (£) and the white oak values from the Wood Hand- 
book (h). 
_ , — 
"Underlined numbers in parentheses refer to Literature Cited at end of text. 
Kept. No. 1787 -2- 
