Chlorocardium rodiei

Last updated

Chlorocardium rodiei
Greenheart (13927555000).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Laurales
Family: Lauraceae
Genus: Chlorocardium
Species:
C. rodiei
Binomial name
Chlorocardium rodiei
(M.R.Schomb.) Rohwer et al.
Synonyms
  • Nectandra rodiei
  • Ocotea rodiei

Chlorocardium rodiei (greenheart) is a species of flowering plant in the family Lauraceae. It is one of two species in the genus Chlorocardium . It is native to Guyana and Suriname in South America. [1] Other common names include cogwood, demerara greenheart, greenhart, ispingo moena, [1] sipiri, bebeeru and bibiru.

It is an evergreen tree growing 15 to 30 m tall with a trunk diameter of 35 to 60 cm. The leaves are oppositely arranged and simple with smooth edges. The fruit is a drupe containing a single seed.

Greenheart wood was used to build the gate for the Manchester Dock in Liverpool. Manchester Dock gate.jpg
Greenheart wood was used to build the gate for the Manchester Dock in Liverpool.

The cyclic bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid rodiasine was first isolated from this species. The wood is extremely hard and strong, so hard that it cannot be worked with standard tools. It is durable in marine conditions, so it is used to build docks and other structures, and it was an early choice for fly fishing rods. An estimated 15 to 28% of the original population has been harvested. The species' use as a commercial timber began in the late 18th century, but most of the harvesting has taken place since the introduction of chainsaws in 1967.

It is often sought for construction projects in parts of the Caribbean, where wood ants are problematic in conventional pine wood construction. It was also used to build the dock gates in Liverpool, such as the Manchester dock gate. It has been used extensively as marine piling, since it is highly resistant to marine borers. It is also extremely dense, and does not float, therefore requiring special water transport arrangement, and is loaded onto specially constructed pontoons for transport to sawmill or direct shipping overseas. As sawn lumber it requires special treatment, and saws with tungsten carbide teeth, since standard steel saw blades cannot be maintained sharp enough to cut any reasonable quantity.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coppicing</span> Method of woodland management

Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a stump, which in many species encourages new shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest or grove that has been subject to coppicing is called a copse or coppice, in which young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level. The resulting living stumps are called stools. New growth emerges, and after a number of years, the coppiced trees are harvested, and the cycle begins anew. Pollarding is a similar process carried out at a higher level on the tree in order to prevent grazing animals from eating new shoots. Daisugi, is a similar Japanese technique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lignum vitae</span> A type of wood particularly heavy and hard

Lignum vitae is a wood, also called guayacan or guaiacum, and in parts of Europe known as Pockholz or pokhout, from trees of the genus Guaiacum. The trees are indigenous to the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America and have been an important export crop to Europe since the beginning of the 16th century. The wood was once very important for applications requiring a material with its extraordinary combination of strength, toughness, and density. It is also the national tree of the Bahamas, and the Jamaican national flower.

<i>Erica arborea</i> Species of flowering plant

Erica arborea, the tree heath or tree heather, is a species of flowering plant (angiosperms) in the heather family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. It is also cultivated as an ornamental.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandalwood</span> Class of woods from trees in the genus Santalum

Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sandalwood is often cited as one of the most expensive woods in the world. Both the wood and the oil produce a distinctive fragrance that has been highly valued for centuries. Consequently, some species of these slow-growing trees have suffered over-harvesting in the past.

<i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> Species of tree native to North America

Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is native to a few small areas of the United States, but it has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas, such as the temperate east coast of Australia where the cultivar 'Frisia'(Golden Robinia) was widely planted as a street tree before being classed as a weed. Another common name is false acacia, a literal translation of the specific name.

<i>Quercus suber</i> Species of plant

Quercus suber, commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the cores of cricket balls. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. In the Mediterranean basin the tree is an ancient species with fossil remnants dating back to the Tertiary period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mulanje Massif</span> Mountain in Malawi

The Mulanje Massif, also known as Mount Mulanje, is a large inselberg in southern Malawi. Sapitwa Peak, the highest point on the massif at 3,002 m, is the highest point in Malawi. It lies 65 km east of Blantyre, rising sharply from the surrounding plains of Phalombe and the Mulanje district.

<i>Torreya nucifera</i> Species of coniferous tree native to southern Japan and to South Koreas Jeju Island

Torreya nucifera is a slow-growing, coniferous tree native to southern Japan and to South Korea's Jeju Island. It is also called kaya (榧)Japanese torreya or Japanese nutmeg-yew.

<i>Coula edulis</i> Species of flowering plant

Coula edulis is a tree in the genus Coula, native to tropical western Africa from Sierra Leone to Angola. It is plentiful in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. It prefers tropical regions and is tolerant of light shade. It can be found in the top canopy of forest as well as the lower story and has no special soil requirements.

<i>Diospyros ebenum</i> Species of flowering plant

Diospyros ebenum, or Ceylon ebony , is a species of tree in the genus Diospyros and the family Ebenaceae. The tree produces valuable black wood.

<i>Santalum album</i> Species of tree in Sandalwood family

Santalum album, or Indian sandalwood, is a small tropical tree, and the traditional source of sandalwood oil. It is native to southern India and Southeast Asia. It is considered sacred in some religions like Hinduism, and some cultures place great significance on its fragrant qualities. However, the high value of the species has caused over-exploitation, to the point where the wild population is vulnerable to extinction. Indian sandalwood still commands high prices for its essential oil owing to its high alpha santalol content, but due to lack of sizable trees it is no longer used for fine woodworking as before. The plant is long-lived, but harvest is only viable after many years.

<i>Millettia laurentii</i> Species of legume

Millettia laurentii is a legume tree from Africa and native to the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The species is listed as "endangered" in the IUCN Red List, principally due to the destruction of its habitat and over-exploitation for timber. Wenge, a dark coloured wood, is the product of Millettia laurentii. Other names sometimes used for wenge include faux ebony, dikela, mibotu, bokonge, and awong. The wood's distinctive colour is standardised as a "wenge" colour in many systems.

Phylloxylon spinosa is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in the northern tip of Madagascar. The tree is commonly harvested from the wild for local use of its hard and very durable wood. Selective and intensive harvesting for its favored construction properties means it is expected to decline rapidly. The species is classified as 'Endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

<i>Widdringtonia whytei</i> Species of conifer

Widdringtonia whytei, the Mulanje cedar or Mulanje cypress, is a species of conifer native to Malawi, where it is endemic to the Mulanje Massif at altitudes of 1,830–2,550 m. It has become endangered as a result of over-harvesting for its wood, and an increase in the frequency of wildfires due to human activity.

<i>Eusideroxylon</i> Genus of flowering plants

Eusideroxylon is a genus of evergreen trees of the family Lauraceae. The genus is monotypic, and includes one accepted species, Eusideroxylon zwageri. It is known colloquially in English as Bornean ironwood, billian, or ulin.

<i>Chlorocardium</i> Genus of trees

Chlorocardium is a genus of the family Lauraceae. It contains only three species, C. esmeraldense, C. rodiei and C. venenosum, and is native to northern South America. The name Chlorocardium means green heart, referring to the wood.

<i>Heritiera fomes</i> Species of tree

Heritiera fomes is a species of mangrove tree in the family Malvaceae. Its common names include sunder, sundri, jekanazo and pinlekanazo. It is the dominant mangrove tree species of the Sundarbans of Bangladesh and India, and comprises about 70% of the trees in the area. H. fomes is a major timber-producing tree. It is threatened by over-harvesting, water diversions in the Ganges Basin, fluctuations in salinity due to upstream and coastal development and top dying disease. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as being "endangered".

Lumber and wood products, including timber for framing, plywood, and woodworking, are created in the wood industry from the trunks and branches of trees through several processes, commencing with the selection of appropriate logging sites and concluding with the milling and treatment processes of the harvested material. In order to determine which logging sites and milling sites are responsibly producing environmental, social and economic benefits, they must be certified under the Forests For All Forever (FCS) Certification that ensures these qualities.

The wood industry or timber industry is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products and secondary products like wood pulp for the pulp and paper industry. Some of the largest producers are also among the biggest owners of timberland. The wood industry has historically been and continues to be an important sector in many economies.

<i>Terminalia amazonia</i> Species of tree

Terminalia amazonia is a species of tree in the Combretaceae family. It is native to North America and South America and has been used for commercial logging. The wood is hard and durable. In Belize, Terminalia amazonia is widely located in the Mountain Pine Ridge.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Red List Standards.; Petitions Working Group (2007). "Chlorocardium rodiei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007: e.T34688A9878638. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T34688A9878638.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.