Schinus

Voucher:   Schinus molle L. JAB190  Previously known as Schinus areira.

Family:  Anacardiaceae  Common name(s):  Pepper-tree

Habit:  Tree to 10 m tall.  Distribution: Introduced (South America).  Cultivated and naturalised in South Australia, southern Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria; widely planted but not naturalised in southern Western Australia.

General features: Density 600 kg/m3.   Heartwood absent or visually indiscernible from sapwood. 

Microscopic features:

Vessels  Tangential vessel diameter: range 14-71 µm; mean 28 µm; SD 11 µm; average maximum 39-50 µm; n =  209 vessels.  Vessels per square millimetre: range 147-159 vessels per mm2 ; n =  2 sampled areas.  Vessels arranged in radial multiples occasionally with 4 or more vessels and occasionally with clusters.  Perforation plates simple.

Axial parenchyma   Axial parenchyma paratracheal and scanty to vasicentric.

Rays  Rays 2-5 cells wide with uniseriate rays absent (n = 75 rays).  Rays of uniform width and not wider than vessels.  Rays 9-14 per tangential mm (n =   7 sampled areas).  Ray height: range 78-366 µm; mean 209 µm; SD 65 µm; n =   7 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.