Anthobolus

Voucher:  Anthobolus leptomerioides F.Muell. JAB174

Family:  Santalaceae  Common name(s):  none 

Habit:  Shrub to 2.5 m tall.  Distribution:  Widespread and extending from the Hamersley Ranges, Western Australia into north-west South Australia, central Australia and east into Queensland.  

General features: Density 1100 kg/m3 .   Heartwood absent or visually indiscernible from sapwood.

Microscopic features:

Vessels  Tangential vessel diameter: range 13-54 µm; mean 31 µm; SD 9 µm; average maximum 29-43 µm; n =  145 vessels.  Vessels per square millimetre: range 63-132 vessels per mm2;  n =  9 sampled areas.  Vessels solitary.  Perforation plates simple with prominent rim.   

*Fibres/tracheids   With numerous, distinctly bordered pits present.

Axial parenchyma   Axial parenchyma apotracheal and diffuse to diffuse-in-aggregate.  

Rays Rays 1-4 cells wide with uniseriate rays present (n = 74 rays).  Rays of uniform width and not wider than vessels.  Rays 5-12 per tangential mm (n =   13 sampled areas).  Ray height: range 68-335 µm; mean 172 µm; SD 57 µm; n =   52 rays.   Rays heterocellular.  

Helical thickenings   Present.

Physical and chemical tests:    Chrome azurol-s test negative.  

Notes:  Heartwood-dependent characters are not assessed for wood where heartwood is absent or visually indiscernible from sapwood until such time it can be reliably determined that heartwood is present.

* At this stage the key makes no distinction between fibres and tracheids as they are difficult to tell apart and there is some confusion in the wood anatomical literature as to their definitions in hardwoods (IAWA: 264). For example, the taxa for which this character was predominantly included - Myrtaceae A (Eucalyptus & Melaleuca) - contain numerous, conspicuous bordered pits that are both called fibre tracheids (Dadswell 1972: 21) and vasicentric tracheids (IAWA: 262).