Bagassa

Primary tabs

Bagassa

Description

Trees, dioecious. Leaves (usually) opposite; stipules lateral, free; blade entire or 3-lobed to 3-parted, 3-veined. Inflorescences in the leaf axils, pedunculate, with bracts. Staminate inflorescences spicate; tepals 4, basally connate; stamens 2; pistillode present. Pistillate inflorescences globose-capitate; tepals 4, basally connate; ovary free, stigmas 2, subulate. Fruiting perianth enlarged, fleshy, greenish; fruit free; seed small, with endosperm, cotyledons flat and equal.

Distribution

Southern America
In northern South America 1 species.

Wood observation species

B. guianensis

Wood

Vessels diffuse, solitary (20-60%) and in short radial multiples and irregular clusters of 2-4, round and oval, 3-4(7) per sq. mm, diameter 145-240 μm. Vessel-member length: 325-445 μm. Perforations simple. Intervascular pits alternate, round, polygonal or slightly oval, 9-13(15) μm. Vessel-ray and vessel-parenchyma pits larger, elongated, half- bordered, borders sometimes reduced. Thin-walled tyloses common.
Rays uniseriate and 2-5-seriate, 3-7 per mm, up to 600-840 μm high. Heterogeneous, composed of procumbent cells, except for the uniseriate margins of 1-2 rows of square and occasionally upright cells. Sheath cells very scarce. Rhombic crystals common in the marginal ray cells. Radial latex tubes present in all samples.
Parenchyma scanty paratracheal to vasicentric-aliform with short wings and some diffuse parenchyma. Strands of 3-4 cells. Rhombic crystals scarce.
Fibres non-septate, lumen 10 μm, walls 3-5 μm. Pits simple, small, restricted to the radial walls. Gelatinous fibres present in variable amounts. Length: 945-970 μm. F/V ratio: 2.7-2.9.
Axial latex tubes occasionally present.