What hardwood tree has no growth rings?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
July 11, 2002
Suggested Reading: Click here.
The chicozapote (Manilkara zapota
(L.) van Royen) is an economic tree supplying fruit called sapodilla, latex
called chicle, and hardwood lumber. The trees grow to about 45 meters (145
feet) within the rainforest. Cultivation within a plantation setting results
in trees seldom over 10 meters (32 feet). For the fruit, sapodilla, smaller
trees work well. The small trees, though, cannot be tapped for chicle. Chicle
collection has remained an industry of the rainforest.
The bark of the chicozapote is gray to brown, older trees are deeply fissured and most bear the zigzag scars of chicle tapping.
Immediately
below the bark, the cambium is pink, although a few are white. In chicle
collection terms, the cambium is called the 'slash'. The chicleros slash
into the cambium and, hopefully, not through it. Chicozapote wood is strong, yet pliable. The
trees are highly resistant to hurricane damage. The root system appears to
play little in hurricane resistance. In "Sapodilla: A Potential Crop for
Subtropical Climates", Michael Mickelbart states: "a shallow-rooted tree,
with more than 80 percent of the roots located within the top 75 cm of soil,
concentrated within an area half the width of the canopy."
The
wood, often referred to as níspero, is uniform in its structure--it does
not show annular growth rings. It contains triterpenoids which make it resistant
to insects and rot. The Panama Canal railroad built to carry supplies and
workers was laid on untreated níspero ties.
When
these 50-plus year old ties were removed for the construction of a new rail
line, they were still undamaged. These ties were salvaged and recycled into
an elevated observation deck for guests at Canopy Towers Ecolodge, an elegant
solution for an old radar facility sitting in a rainforest.
El
Eden Ecological Reserve has a brief description and photographs of the swamp
forest found in the Yucatan. To view the photographs, click on the link:
http://maya.ucr.edu/pril/el_eden/habitats/swamp_for.html
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images.
Suggested Reading:
What are flowers of benjamin? Plants that Changed History - June 22, 2004
What toxic resin was used on skin? Herbal Folklore - June 9, 2003
What did Santa Anna have to do with chewing gum? Plants that Changed History - July 9, 2002
Humans or bats, who made chicle a dominant species? Renfield's Garden - July 10, 2002
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