Research Article VascularTissueAnalysisasaDecisiveToolforTropicalHardwood Identification:TheCaseStudyofEkopSpeciesinCameroon PierrePaulMbarga , 1 ArmandWilliamMala, 2 andMarieMargueriteMbolo 2 1 IRAD’s Multipurpose Station, P.O. Box 592, Abong Mbang, Cameroon 2 University of Yaound´ e I, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Plant Biology, P.O. Box 337, Yaound´ e, Cameroon Correspondence should be addressed to Pierre Paul Mbarga; pierrepaul.mbarga@gmail.com Received 19 January 2020; Accepted 12 March 2020; Published 8 April 2020 Academic Editor: Qing-Lai Dang Copyright©2020PierrePaulMbargaetal.isisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. eperforationplatesandvessel-raypittingoftropicalhardwoodsaretypicalfeaturesthatmakeitpossibletomarkspecieswithin a botanical family. is study aims to bring out a consistent and robust framework for a clear distinction through anatomical features among various Ekop woods based on usual nomenclature on trade. Perforations plates and vessel-ray pitting are determiningcomponentsfortheclassificationofthespecies.Indeed,severalspeciesexploitedunderthetradenameEkopbecause oftheirgrain,color,andwoodendecorationpatternsdonotbelongtothesametaxonomicclass.Withthenaturalstructureofcells and their intervessel pits observed in xylem and phloem, it appears that the perforation plates and the vessel-ray pitting are decisive components for the classification of Ekop species. Forty-three wood specimens of Ekop were collected from forests in Ebolowa, Mbalmayo, and Abong Mbang. In addition, 155 microscopic sections of Ekop slides with at least 3 representatives of identified species were observed. us, macroscopic observations through a hand magnifying glass were performed on wood carrots.en,themicroscopicsectionsofslidesinthefirst63featuresoftheInternationalAssociationofWoodAnatomistslist wereanalyzed.Correlationswereobservedbetweenvesselselementsandothermainfeaturesthroughcomponentanalysis.Four groups of Ekop were differentiated by gathering in each genus a matrix of similar features across their vessels groupings, perforation plates, and vessel-ray pittings. A tabular key was used to further define the identity of the Ekop species. is study makesitpossibletorecognizeEkopwoodbeyondthedendrologicalaspectsofvegetativeandreproductiveorgans.Finally,afew typical features used for a precise demarcation were identified, for a taxonomic classification within the Ekop group. 1.Introduction According to ITTO [1], timber production in tropical Africa increased from 2012 to 2017 reaching 6.7 million m 3 in 2015. Cameroonwasthethirdlargestexporteroftropicaltimberand thefirstproducerintropicalAfricawith1.2millionm 3 in2015 [2]. is trend was accentuated with the allocation of logging concessions to Asians, who were interested in other little knowntimbersduringtheperiod2004to2012.us,speciesin the decline like Ekop have benefitted from the favorable trade opportunities. erefore, the revaluation of their free board taxable value reaching 85,450 CFAF (131 Euros)/m 3 has in- creased the price of some high timber species [3]. Five species, including Tetraberlinia bifoliata (25,000m 3 ), accounted for 72% of total log exports in Cameroon. Among them, 10 Ekop species represented 19.23% of the total volume during 2015 and 2016 with Julbernadia pellegriniana (12%), Brachystegia cynometroides (5.5%), and other Ekop species (1.73%) of export logs appearing on national statistics [3]. e name Ekop comes from Bantu’s ethnic languages covering the Fang-Beti-Bulu cultural area and is used by forest timber prospectors in South and Center regions. e practices of ethnotaxonomy among the people of Center- South Cameroon are based on a rich heritage with a knowledge of the useful plants that have not been formally codified [4]. Letouzey and Mouranche [5] chose the pronunciation Ekop (read Ekaup) from native forest timber prospectors to signify a group of trees identifiable by a common external Hindawi International Journal of Forestry Research Volume 2020, Article ID 6387369, 7 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6387369