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Nomenclature etc. LYTHRACEAE. Lagerstroemia balansae, L. angustifolia, L. calyculata, L. cochinchinensis, L. flos-reginae, L. duppereana, L. floribunda, L. hypoleuca, L. ovalifolia, L. speciosa (syn.: L. flos-reginae). Trade and local names: bungur (MY, ID); bang-lang (KH, VN); jarul (ID); banaba (PH); nana, bentak, bangor (ID); pyinma (MM); intanin (TH); sralao (KH). Not protected under CITES regulations.
Tree. Geographic distribution: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indomalesia.
General. Growth ring boundaries distinct. Heartwood basically brown (pinkish to purple brown (color of walnut)). Sapwood colour distinct from heartwood colour. Density (0.58–)0.66–0.76(–0.81) g/cm³.
Vessels. Wood ring porous or semi ring porous. Vessels in multiples, commonly in short (2–3 vessels) radial rows. Average tangential vessel diameter 50–100–180 µm. Perforation plates simple. Intervessel pits alternate, average diameter (vertical) 6–9 µm, pits vestured. Vessel-ray pits with reduced borders or apparently simple, different from intervessel pits, rounded or angular or horizontal to vertical, of two distinct sizes or types in the same ray cell. Tyloses present, thinwalled.
Tracheids and fibres. Fibres of medium wall thickness. Average fibre length 900–1100–1400 µm. Fibre pits mainly restricted to radial walls, simple to minutely bordered. Fibres exclusively septate; evenly distributed.
Axial parenchyma. Axial parenchyma banded. Bands marginal (or seemingly marginal). Bands fine or coarse. Mostly anastomosing bands in contact with vessels. Axial parenchyma apotracheal, or paratracheal. Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma aliform, or confluent. Aliform parenchyma of the lozenge type. Axial parenchyma as strands. Average number of cells per strand: (3–)4(–6).
Rays. Rays 15–19–25 per tangential mm, exclusively uniseriate. Height of large rays up to 500 µm. Rays composed of a single cell type (homocellular); homocellular ray cells procumbent.
Mineral inclusions. Crystals present, prismatic, located in axial parenchyma cells. Crystal-containing axial parenchyma cells chambered. Number of crystals per cell or chamber one. Chambered crystalliferous cells (axial parenchyma) of two types: a) in long narrow chains with numerous small crystals; b) wide and short with few large crystals. Silica not observed.
Illustrations. • Transverse section. Lagerstroemia sp. • Tangential section. Lagerstroemia hypoleuca. • Radial section. Lagerstroemia hypoleuca. • Septate fibres; crystals. Lagerstroemia hypoleuca. septate fibres and prismatic crystals in chambered axial parenchyma cells.
The interactive key allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting specified attributes, summaries of attributes within groups of taxa, and geographical distribution.
Cite this publication as: ‘Richter, H.G., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2000 onwards. Commercial timbers: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval. In English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Version: 9th April 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
