Estudo morfo-anatômico das espécies de Leguminosae comercializadas no Estado do Pará como angelim

Abstract

The wood trade in the State of Pará is an activity that continues to grow annually. Amongst those commercialized, "angelim" is of high importance, not only in the domestic market but recently also, in the export market. This work was elaborated with the aim of contributing to the identification of those species commercialized in the State of Pará under the common name of "angelim". The species known by this name were found though surveys of the literature and in regional herbaria. Samples of sawn timber were made in the main lumber polar regions of the State (Paragominas, Tailândia, Santarém, Portel, Belém, Moju) to verify which species are being commercialized. The different species were described using both laboratory and field characters. As a subsidy to the morphology, the wood anatomy of these species was studied and many macro and microscopic characters were considered for separation of the species. For each of the species studied, photographs were taken of the general aspects of the tree in the field (trunk, habit, branches, leaves, bark and details of vegetative structures), drawings were made of vegetative and reproductive parts, and photographs taken of the wood in transverse section and microphotography in transverse, radial and tangential sections. Seven species of Leguminosae are being commercialized as angelim in the Pará State: Andira Surinamensis, Dinizia excelsa, Hymenolobium excelsum, H. modestum, H. petraeum, H. pulcherrimum and Vatairea Daraensis. The use of the name "angelim" for different species seems to be associated the visual characteristics of the wood. If harvested trees are not correctly identified, rational planning of the forest exploration of Angelim will not be possible; for example, trees selected as mother trees might belong to various species, thus compromising reproductive processes, and thus the conservation of these species. The grouping of different species under the one name "angelim", without considering their physicist-mechanical characteristics, probably confuses the various technological properties to the different species.