BRIDGE REPAIR/REHABILITATION FEASIBILITY STUDY

4 U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 207
There is probably less variation between species
in any one limber group than is accepted in the
usual trade groupings used in other areas. Hence,
additional species can eventually be listed in many
of the commercial groups without, exceeding the
accepted range of variability in commercial timber.
In some instances, species listed as secondary
in importance can be included with the principal
species now listed under the accepted trade name.
NOMENCLATURE
The timber trade names in this work were selected
principally by members of the interested
governments. The author made only a few
changes or modifications to clarify the origin of
certain timbers or to separate them more clearly
from others with similar trade names. Trade
names used in the principal country of export are
preferred unless subject to confusion with the
names of other timbers. The trade names accepted
in this work are generally in agreement with those
adopted by the British Standards Institute as
listed in its “Nomenclature of Commercial Timbers
Including its Sources of Supply” (36). 1
Most tropical timbers are known by different
common names in each country or territory of
origin and often by several names even within
each territory. These names are sometimes variations
of connotations of the tree’s form, fruit, or
other morphological characteristics, the uses for
its wood and other parts, or certain characteristic
features of the tree or its products. Many of these
local names are misleading. Some are used repeatedly
for different species throughout the Caribbean
area. They are, on the whole, unreliable
and only of local value, but are listed in this work
to assist the reader in identifying local timbers
with the preferred trade and accepted botanical
names.
The scientific names, including those mentioned
incidentally, have been checked and conform to
current usage under the International Code of
Botanical Nomenclature. Synonyms in use are
also listed in the text and index. Further taxonomic
studies of tropical trees and woods may
result in slight revision of the nomenclature.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
Most tropical American tree species and timbers
of related species are not uniformly distributed
throughout the Caribbean area but may
be arranged into several geographical groups.
Timbers found in one country may be absent from
a nearby country. Several examples will illustrate
the main patterns of tree distribution of the
timbers described here.
1 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to Bibliography,
p. 131.
Balsa (Ochroma pyramidale) is found widely
in tropical America, including West Indies,
Central America, and northern South America.
Some species, such as gommier (Dacryodes excelsa),
are confined to the West Indies, and a few,
such as one kind of magnolia (Talauma dodecapetala),
are known from only one or a few islands.
Others, such as Honduras rosewood
(Dalbergia stevensonii ), are restricted to Central
America? or occur also in the West Indies, as does
Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea).
The trees and timbers of the Guianas and other
parts of northern South America for the most
part are different from those of Central America
and the West Indies. Many timbers described
here are limited to South America (Catostemma,
Eperua, Goupia, Qualea, etc.). In the Guianas
are found many trees of the Amazon rain forest.
Trinidad, which is within sight of the continent.
has trees of South American relationship, not
West Indian. However, some South American
trees extend slightly northward into Central
America and the southern West Indies.
The section on Distribution and Habitat. of the
one or more species providing each timber is based
on published information. For many species this
section is not complete and may be subject to
certain revisions as additional botanical classifications
are made. Further botanical exploration
will likely extend the distribution or range of
many timbers and bring about some reclassification
or combination of species. Many “species”
have already been combined to increase the range
of certain timbers. Further published accounts
of species occurrence and habitat will also allow
the correction of present knowledge.
TREE DESCRIPTIONS
The section under each timber headed The Tree
should be of special interest to the forester and
other technicians. It will help them correlate the
other descriptive material with the botanical species
where tree identity is in doubt. To the nontechnical
reader, this information can provide a
measure of the potential size and the quality of
products available from the trees. For example.
it should be clear to the reader that snakewood
(Piratinera guianensis), although moderately resistant
to marine borers, does not grow to sufficient
size, length, or in suitable form for use as marine
piling. Similarly, it is evident that Demerara
greenheart (Ocotea rodiaei ) is generally of adequate
size for this use.
The text also shows the variation in tree size
between countries and, to some extent, localities
and sites. Most writers tend to quote the upper
size limits of trees growing on good sites rather
than the average or common size at maturity. Detailed
botanical descriptions of trees do not appear
justified in a text primarily for the reader interested
in timber products. This information is