Anatomical identification of commercialized wood in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The analysis of macroscopic wood anatomy is a critical tool for the inspection and identification of commercial wood. Studies have reported two main problems in timber commerce: wood misidentification and the trade of endangered species. In the state of Rio de Janeiro, there exists a lack of scientific research into wood identification and commerce. Therefore, in 2011, the Research Institute of the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro and the Environmental State Institute signed an agreement of technical cooperation to record inventory of the wood involved in commerce in the above state based on wood identification. The present study aimed to identify, by macroscopic wood anatomy, wood samples collected by Environmental State Institute inspectors and to crosscheck the identified species to their assigned common names. In total, 277 samples were gathered from 52 different companies, of which we were able to identify 220 to genus and 57 to species. The identified wood samples represented 22 families and 43 genera, and included four endangered species. Sellers used the common name inappropriately in 18 % of the samples. Our study shows that there is currently a problem with the use of erroneous common names in the trade of endangered woods in the state of Rio de Janeiro.