PROPERTIES OF IMPORTED TROPICAL WOODS1

By

_

B. FRANCIS KUKACHKA, Botanist

Forest Products Laboratory,2 Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture

INTRODUCTION

The descriptive text and tabular data compiledhere have been drawn freely from a wide varietyof sources, but special credit is due the publica-tions of the British Forest Products ResearchLaboratory and those of the Yale University Schoolof Forestry.

Species descriptions are arranged alphabetical-ly by generic names. The generic name may befollowed by a specific name when the latter isthe sole or principal name used in the timbertrade. When a number of species are involvedand it is generally not practical to identify theprecise species from the wood alone, the genericname is followed by the designation spp.

With well-established species only a singlecommon name has been applied, even though itmay have many local or vernacular names,particularly if the species has widespread distri-bution. Where two or three names are indicated,they usually refer to the name in use in theseveral areas of principal production. Commonnames which are inappropriately applied and aregenerally misleading have been avoided as muchas possible. The use of generic common names

such as birch and teak in connection with totallyunrelated species is bad practice and only addsto already existing confusion of names in the wood-using industry.

The pair of capital letters after the speciesname serves as a quick reference to the broadarea of origin as AF (Africa), AM (Latin America),and AS (Southeast Asia).

An index of common names with their botanicalequivalents is included at the end of thisreport.

The average weight of the woods described isgiven in pounds per cubic foot and at a moisturecontent of 12 percent, unless otherwise indicated.

The term “texture” refers only to the diameterof the pores.

Kiln schedules for foreign woods are given inBritish Forest Products Research LaboratoryLeaflet No. 42, “Kiln-Drying Schedules,” revised1959. The schedules differ somewhat from thosein Chapter 8 of “Dry-Kiln Operator’s Manual,”Agriculture Handbook 188 (1961). Table 1 (at endof report) lists the British schedule recommenda-tions for 4/4 to 6/4 lumber, the nearest U.S.

1Presented at the Conference on Tropical Hardwoods held at theState University College of Forestry, Syracuse University,August 18-21, 1969.

2The Laboratory is maintained at Madison, Wisconsin, in cooperationwith the University of Wisconsin.

schedule from the Dry Kiln Operator’s Manualfor these same sizes, and a suggested U.S.schedule for 8/4 stock.3

Statements relative to durability refer only toheartwood and under conditions favorable todeterioration. Sapwood is always nondurable underexterior use conditions. Wood kept continuouslydry is not subject to attack by fungi although thesapwood of certain species may be attacked bypowder-post beetles.

The term “in-service,” when mentioned, refersto the shrinkage and swelling or “movement” ofwood that may occur under conditions of use. Itrefers to interior use in the major part of theUnited States and the values, when cited, apply tounfinished wood. Finishes do not prevent “move-ment” but retard to varying degree the rate atwhich moisture is lost or gained. The valuesgiven in table 2 represent total shrinkage fromthe green to the ovendry state and are based onthe dimensions when green. Such values havelimited application and do not indicate the degreeof “movement” that may occur between differentlevels of relative humidity or the ratio of shrinkagethat occurs during different stages of drying. Itis unfortunate that so little “movement” data areavailable with respect to the species in everydayuse.

The machining of wood perhaps presents moreproblems than any phase of conversion from thelog to finished product.. Lumber that is straightgrained and free of all defects is, of course, theideal material to the machine operator. Problemsbegin to mount when a user is confronted withthe necessity of machining species with which heis totally unfamiliar. With respect to tropicalspecies he will be confronted with considerablevariation in density, degree of interlocking andvariable grain, silica content, and tension wood,all of which can be very troublesome in speciesof lower density. Interlocked grain is character-istic of the majority of tropical species and pre-sents difficulty in the planing of quartered sur-faces unless attention is paid to cutting angles andsharpness of knives. Tension wood may accountfor rough surfaces, which may be referred to asfibrous, fuzzy, or torn. It is also frequentlyresponsible for the pinching effect on saws due

to stress relief in the lumber during sawing andthe resulting burning and dulling of the teethThis particular difficulty is sometimes attributedto the presence of silica, even when silica is notpresent. Silica, when present, may have a pro-nounced dulling effect on all cutting edges andthis becomes more pronounced as the wood isdried to the usual in-service requirements.

Strength values are given in table 3 for greenwood and in table 4 for seasoned wood. Thevalues are based on the ASTM or 2-inch standard.The values published by the British Laboratoryin their Bulletin No. 50 are based on the 2-centi-meter standard and are not directly comparablewith those based on the 2-inch standard. TheBritish values cited in tables 3 and 4 have beenconverted to the 2-inch standard using the con-version factors recommended in their BulletinNo. 50.

ALBIZIA FALCATARIA AsBatai

This species, originally described from theMolucca Islands, is now commonly found incultivation throughout the tropics of the world.The tree has been utilized in Malaysia for theafforestation of degraded and idle lands, and inCentral America it is replacing the silk-oak(Grevillea ) and native species used for shadetrees in coffee plantations. This species hasshown remarkable growth in several plantationson the islands of Kaual and Hawaii. Data pre-sented here are based primarily on the timberobtained from these Hawaiian plantations.Synonyms of this species are A. moluccana and A. falcata.

Heartwood and sapwood not clearly distingulsh-able in all trees; wood light colored with a verypale brown, pinkish, or yellowish cast. Deschreports the Malayan-grown wood with grain deeplyinterlocked and spiral: the texture rather coarseand even. The Hawaiian-grown material wasessentially straight-grained and, although inter-locking was noted, it was rather shallow. Thewood weighs about 24 pounds per cubic foot.

American basswood (Tilia americana), of thesame average specific gravity as batai, exceeds

Wis., provided this abstract of Leaflet No. 42 and the U.S.schedule suggestions. The British schedules may be purchasedfrom the British Information Service, 845 Third Avenue,New York, N.Y. 10022.

3John McMillen of the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory, Madison,

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the latter in static bending and compressionParallel to grain at the 12 percent moisturecontent level; batai is slightly superior withrespect to side hardness and maximum shearingstrength.

In Malaya, batai is said to dry fairly rapidlywithout serious degrade; the most common defectobserved was bowing. Lumber of 5/4 thicknesswas air seasoned in 6 weeks and 4/4 materialwas well dried in 4 weeks. None of the materialwas reported to have developed any splits orchecks.

The wood is said to be abrasive to saws, butbecause this species is not a silica accumulator,the dulling effect can be attributed to the pinchingand resulting burning of the saw teeth as tensionstresses are relieved in the lumber. Wood in thisdensity class would require sharp knives to ensurethe production of smooth surfaces in planing. Thefine sawdust produced when machining the drywood is said to be responsible for allergicresponses in certain individuals. Responses notedhave been sneezing and tearing.

The wood is not durable under exterior con-ditions. It has been treated by the open-tank pro-cedure and absorptions of 5 pounds of creosote-diesel fuel mixture were obtained in Malayantests.

Because this species has some degree ofimportance as an ornamental tree and in silvi-cultural practice, the lumber has been utilizedon a relatively small scale and only for localpurposes. Because of its rapid growth, it wouldappear to have promise as a plantation speciesfor lumber and veneer purposes. For plantationpurposes it would be highly desirable to selectstrains which are relatively straight grained,since there appears to be considerable variationin the species with respect to degree of inter-locking grain. This species requires a morethorough evaluation of its inherent tension stres-ses.

The Australian Laboratory reports the follow-ing potential problems in veneer production basedon four billets from the Solomon Islands: Endpopping on crosscutting of logs; high output ofnarrow veneer, woolliness of veneer surfaceswhen the knife edge is blunt or poorly prepared;buckling and splitting of veneer containing tensionwood; shortage of face veneer through end splits:and bow distortion of plywood due to tension wood.One billet contained brittleheart and two billetscontained a severe form of tension wood,

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ALBIZIA LEBBEKKokko, Siris

AS

Albizia lebbek. which is native to India, Burma,Pakistan, Malaya, and the Andaman Islands hasfrequently and very erroneously been referred toas “Indian walnut.” The names kokko and sirisare well established, well known, distinctive ofthe species, and should be used consistently inthe U.S. trade.

Several other Indian species of Albizia occurwithin the range of Albizia lebbek and are difficultto distinguish because they intergrade in colorand are very similar in anatomical structure. Itis very possible that the wood reaching U.S.markets may be the product of two or threespecies.

The sapwood is white or yellowish-white andwide; heartwood light to dark brown and fre-quently streaked with lighter and darker bands.The grain may be straight but is more frequentlyinterlocked to irregular. The texture is verycoarse but even. The wood weighs about 38pounds per cubic foot.

The timber is stated to be a moderately re-fractory species with some tendency to endsplitting and surface checking.

The heartwood is rated as moderately durable.The presence of irregular and interlocked

grain presents some difficulties in sawing andplaning, but in planing the problem can bealleviated by the use of proper cutting angles.Because the wood is used in the United Statesmainly in the form of veneer. the lumber machin-ing characteristics are of little consequence.

The wood is utilized principally as decorativeveneer. When used for purposes where smooth-ness of surface is essential, the pore must, ofnecessity, be filled.

ALBIZIA spp.Albizia

AF

The genus Albizia is represented by a largenumber of species widely distributed throughoutthe tropics of the world. In Africa the genus isrepresented by about 30 species, but many ofthese are relatively Small trees of the savannahareas. The following three species are probablyrepresentative of the range of quality that maybeanticipated: Albizia adianthifolia, A. ferruginea,and A. zygia.

Albizia ferruginea.--Sapwood straw-colored,about 2 inches wide and distinct from the heart-wood, which varies from a light brown to a darkchocolate brown. The texture is coarse. Thegrain is markedly interlocked. The wood ismoderately hard and heavy, weighing about 44pounds per cubic foot.

Albizia adianthifolia.--Heartwood alight goldenyellow or light brown sometimes with a greenish-yellow cast. Sapwood about 2 inches wide anddistinct from the heartwood. Texture coarse.Grain shallowly interlocked and the strip patternbroad and widely spaced. The wood averagesabout 35 pounds per cubic foot.

Albizia zygia.--Sapwood white or gray to yel-lowish-white and distinct from the heartwood,which is pale brown and often has a reddish cast.Texture coarse. Grain shallowly and broadlyinterlocked. Wood averages about 35 pounds percubic foot. The following description appliesprincipally to this species:

Limited seasoning data suggest that the lumbercan be seasoned with little degrade, but seasonsvery slowly in the thicker dimensions. Shrinkageis low and movement is rated as small.

Variability in weight both within and betweenspecies is reflected in the mechanical propertiesand should be taken into account where the timberis used where strength is a primary consideration.

The heartwood of the various species is ratedas moderately durable to very durable. Heartwoodis generally resistant to preservative treatment.

The wood is reported to work fairly easily, butattention must be given to the machining ofquartered surfaces because of interlocked grain.

Not utilized in the United States at the presenttime. The British Laboratory indicates that thesespecies should be satisfactory for such purposesas joinery and general carpentry.

ALSTONIA BOONEI & CONGENSISAlstonia

AF

The two African species of Alstonia are widelydistributed throughout West and Central Africa.

The sapwood, which may be up to 7 inches inwidth, is not visually distinct from the nearly whiteheartwood. The grain is generally straight or witha broad and shallow interlock. Texture is moder-ately fine and even. A distinctive feature of thewood of these species is the presence of slit-likepassages or latex traces that run radially through

the wood. They vary in size, but are commonlyabout 1/2 inch high, generally occur at fairlyregular intervals, and are abundant over localizedareas of the lumber. A similar condition occursin the Asiatic Dyera belonging to the same familyas Alstonia. The wood averages about 25 poundsper cubic foot.

The lumber seasons rapidly and easily withslight tendency toward checking and splitting.Slight distortion is likely to occur in thin, flat-sawn lumber.

Alstonia is in the density range of cottonwoodand its mechanical properties are similar.

The wood is rated as perishable, but is readilytreatable with preservatives.

The wood works easily with hand and machinetools. but sharp cutting tools are essential toensure smooth surfaces in wood of this low density.

Although Alstonia can be readily peeled, it isreported to be unsuited for plywood manufacturebecause of the latex traces. Utilization in the solidform is also restricted because of this inherentdefect and consequently limits the use of the woodto that of a “short-cutting” species. Alstoniawould be suited for core stock in both solid andveneer form

ANACARDIUM EXCELSUMEspave

AM

Espave ranges from Costa Rica through Panamainto Ecuador, Colombia, andvenezuela. The genusis best known through the edible cashew nut(Anacardium occidentale).

The freshly exposed heartwood of espave is alight yellowish brown to light reddish brown, oftenwith a greenish cast. These colors may appearin streaks of variable width Upon exposure tolight the heartwood becomes a fairly uniformrusset brown with a golden or reddish cast. Thesapwood may be very thick, up to 10 inches. andis sharply demarcated from the heartwood. Boththe sapwood and heartwood are quite lustrous andprominently marked by the coarse vessel lines.The grain is Interlocked and shows a coarseribbon stripe on quartersawn surfaces. The woodaverages about 30 pounds per cubic foot at 12 per-cent moisture content.

Espave is rated as moderately difficult to air-dry and exhibits a variable drying rate.

The heartwood is rated as durable.Espave is surpassed in most mechanical prop-

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erties by yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) to termites. With respect to fungus resistance,of nearly comparable density, The differences the heartwood is rated as moderately resistantbetween the two are small but favorable to yellow- and should not be used under conditions favoringpoplar, except in hardness where espave has a decay. The heartwood does not absorb preserva-slight advantage. tive, solutions readily.

Machining tests conducted at the Forest prod-ucts Laboratory show espave as poor in planingand sanding: chipped grain and fuzzy surfaceswere the most common machining defects. Ten-sion wood appears to be very common in thisspecies.

Although espave is readily available, it hasnever gained favor in the United States for anyform of utilization. The avoidance of this speciesis probably attributable to the warping tendenciesof flatsawn material due to wide interlockinggrain and machining difficulties attendant to ten-sion wood.

The wood machines readily, but the dullingeffect on the cutting edges of ordinary tools issevere and is very troublesome with saws.Carbide-tipped saw teeth are essential for thesatisfactory cutting of seasoned lumber and knivesof similar material are necessary for planing.The wood planes fairly well with sharp cutters,but a fibrous finish is produced by slightly dullblades. A cutting angle of 20° may be helpful withquartered surfaces which tend to tear in the zonesof interlocked grain.

In its area of growth it is used as a generalutility lumber.

ANISOPTERA spp.Krabak, Mersawa, Palosapis

AS

A characteristic feature of the Anisopteraspecies is the presence of silica, which occursprincipally in the wood rays. The amount varieswith the species, but all present some difficultyin sawing and working with machine tools, Avail-able values for silica accumulation range from0.24 to 1.37 percent of the ovendry weight of thewood.

Genus of about 15 species distributed from thePhilippine Islands and Malaysia to East Pakistan.Names applied to the timber vary with the sourceand three names are generally. encountered in thelumber trade: krabak (Thailand), mersawa (Ma-laysia), and palosapis (Philippines),

The Anisoptera species produce wood of lightcolor, moderately coarse texture, and of plainappearance on flatsawn or rotary-cut surfaces:quartered surfaces exhibit a slight ribbon stripfigure due to interlocking grain. Although about15 species comprise the genus Anisoptera, thereis relatively little variation between species inall respects. The heartwood when freshly sawn ispale yellow or yellowish-brown and darkens onexposure. Some timber may show a pinkish castor pink streaks, but these eventually disappearon exposure. The sapwood, which is about 2 incheswide is poorly defined. The wood weighs about39 pounds per cubic foot in the seasoned conditionand about 59 pounds when green.

It appears probable that the major volume ofthese timbers will be used in the form of plywood,because conversion in this form presents con-siderably less difficulty than lumber production.

ANTIARIS AFRICANA & WELWITSCHIIChenchen

AF

The two African species of Antiaris are fairlycommon trees occurring in the high forest zoneof West, Central, and East Africa. Some botanistsinclude the two African species under the Asiaticspecies A. toxicaria.

The wood is generally a light yellow or lightyellow brown with no distinction between heart-wood and sapwood. The texture is medium to rathercoarse. Grain is interlocked. Wood averages about27 pounds per cubic foot.

The lumber can be seasoned fairly rapidly, buthas a pronounced tendency to distort; twist maybe a serious degrade.

Green lumber air seasons very slowly, andunless well ventilated during this period, is verysusceptible to deterioration by stain and decayfungi.

The mechanical properties of chenchen aresimilar to those of Alstonia. The wood is ratedas perishable, but permeable to preservativetreatment.

The sapwood is susceptible to attack by powder-post beetles and the heartwood is not resistant

The wood is moderately difficult to work becauseof its low density and interlocking grain. The woodis reported to glue satisfactorily.

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The inherent characteristics of Antiaris gen-erally militate against its utilization, at least inthe United States.

ARAUCARIA ANGUSTIFOLIA“Parana pine”

AM

Although this species is not classified as ahardwood, it is. included here for convenience andbecause it is one of the more important of theimported species.

The name “Parana pine” is applied to thisspecies in the United States, but it is not a truepine in that it does not belong to the genus Pinus.Its ranges include several of the states of south-eastern Brazil and adjacent Argentina and Para-guay. Commercial supplies originate only inBrazil.

The sapwood is yellowish and not always distinctfrom the heartwood, which is a very light brownand frequently shows bright streaks of red. Thewood is straight-grained and of a more uniformand finer texture than the softwoods of the NorthTemperate zone. Growth rings are evident, butmore or less inconspicuous as in U.S. white pines.The wood weighs about 34 pounds per cubic footat 12 percent moisture content.

“Parana pine” appears to be more difficult toseason than most softwoods and is variable inthis respect. The darker colored wood is veryprone to split, distort, and dry slowly. Inherentstresses in the wood are likely to cause distortionon machining.

Strengthwise, “Parana pine” is in the densityrange of loblolly and shortleaf pine and themechanical properties of these three species arequite similar.

The heartwood is rated as nondurable withrespect to natural durability and is rated asmoderately resistant to preservative treatment.

The wood can be worked easily by hand andmachine tools and has very little dulling effecton their cutting edges. It planes and molds to aclean, smooth finish and gives good results inmost other operations. The wood takes stains andother finishes readily and can be glued satis-factorily. The wood is free from resin ducts,pitch pockets, and pitch streaks.

Some tendency toward splitting of kiln-dried“Parana pine” and warping of seasoned and rippedlumber is caused by the presence of compressionwood, an abnormal type of wood structure with

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intrinsically large shrinkage along the grain.Boards containing compression wood should beexcluded from exacting uses.

The principal uses include framing lumber,interior trim, sash and door stock, furniture,case goods, and veneer.

Adequate supplies of lumber are still availablefor export from Brazil although it is anticipatedthat the volume will decrease because of in-creasing local demands and because tremendousvolumes were lost in recent years through verydisastrous forest fires.

ASPIDOSPERMA spp.Peroba rosa, red peroba

AM

There are a number of species of the genusAspidosperma in southeastern Brazil which areclassified as belonging to the peroba group. Themost important of this group from the commercialstandpoint is A. peroba.

The heartwood color of this group is character-istically roseate, sometimes striped with red orpurplish-red, and not sharply demarcated fromthe yellowish sapwood. On exposure the woodassumes a yellow-brown coloration. The textureis very fine and uniform; grain is straight tovery irregular with a low luster. The wood ismoderately heavy, weighing about 47 pounds percubic foot at 12 percent moisture content and inthis respect is about equal to white oak

The wood appears to season without much split-ting, but some distortion is likely to develop inmaterial with variable grain.

The woods of the peroba rosa group are gen-erally heavier than native commercial hardwoodspecies, but the strength properties are morenearly on par with woods in the density class ofhard maple.

The heartwood is rated as durable with respectto fungus attack.

The wood works with moderate ease, althoughsome difficulties may be anticipated with irregu-lar grain. It takes finishes readily and can beglued satisfactorily.

The peroba rosa group is an important sourceof hardwood in southeastern Brazil where it isutilized for a multitude of purposes in both solidand veneer form. In areas of abundance, all thecomponent parts of frame house construction mayconsist of this wood alone, and the furniture maybe made of it. In the United States this should be

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a good wood for “printing” purposes if not con-sidered too heavy.

ASTBONIUM GRAVEOLENS &FRAXINIFOLIUMGoncalo alves

AM

Because of their extensive growth range thesespecies are known locally by a variety of names.The major and early imports of this wood havebeen from Brazil, where the commercial nameis goncalo alves. This name has also been adoptedby the U.S. trade, These species range fromsouthern Mexico, through Central America Intothe Amazon Basin.

The heartwood is very variable with respect tocolor and ranges from various shades of brownto red with narrow to wide, irregular strips ofdark brown or nearly black. The sapwood isgrayish-white and sharply demarcated from theheartwood. The pigment figure in these speciesis quite striking and very characteristic. Thetexture is medium and uniform. Grain is variablefrom straight to interlocked and wavy, The woodis very heavy and averages about 63 pounds percubic foot at 12 percent moisture content.

Although the wood is in the high density class,it is not difficult to work with machine tools. Itturns readily, finishes very smoothly, and takesa high natural polish. The heartwood is highlyresistant to moisture absorption and the pig-mented areas, because of their high density, maypresent some difficulties in gluing.

The heartwood is rated as very durable withrespect to fungus attack.

In air seasoning studies, goncalo alves isobserved to’ dry at a fast to moderate rate. It israted as moderately difficult to season. Degradeobserved is moderate crooking or bowing accom-panied by a slight tendency to twist.

Checking is noted to be slight. Shrinkage islow, especially so in consideration of the highdensity of the wood.

The high density of the wood is accompaniedby equally high strength values, which are con-siderably higher in most respects than those ofany well known U.S. species. It is not expected,however, that goncalo alves will be imported forpurposes where strength is an important criterion.

In the United States the greatest value of goncaloalves is in its use for specialty items such asarchery bows, billiard cue butts, brush backs,

cutlery handles. and for fine and attractiveproducts of turnery or carving.

AUCOUMEA KLAINEANAOkoume

AF

Okoume is undoubtedly the most important ofthe African timbers with respect to productionvolume and utilization. Supplies originate. princi-pally in French Equatorial Africa.

The sapwood is narrow and has a pale graycolor. The heartwood is a salmon pink or lightpinkish brown to a dark reddish brown. The tex-ture is similar to that of mahogany. Okoume iswithout odor or taste and quite lustrous. Grain isstraight to interlocked, wavy, and variable, Thewood weighs about 29 Bounds per cubic foot.

The seasoned lumber is generally difficult towork with machines because of the variability ingrain and the occurrence of silica. The logs arereadily converted to veneer by the rotary andslicing procedures. Okoume is used in the UnitedStates only in the form of veneer for plywood,which obviates the difficulties that may be en-countered in seasoning and machining in the solidform

Large volumes of okoume are utilized annuallyin Europe. In the United States it is used pri-marily as a general utility plywood as well asfor decorative effect.

BERLINIA spp. AFBerlinia

About a dozen species of Berlinia occur inWest Africa and the Congo area. It is uncertainwhether the various species differ significantlywith respect to their timber quality or whethercommercial shipments are predominantly onespecies or include a mixture of species. TheBritish Laboratory indicates that there is someevidence that several species are confused andtheir timbers may be mixed, but the present stateof knowledge does not permit distinction betweenthem, The following description is based on tim-ber presumed to be Berlinia grandiflora: Theheartwood varies from pale red to a deep redbrown with dark purple or brown streaks whichare somewhat irregular in outline. The sapwoodis white or gray, often with a pinkish tint, distinctfrom the heartwood, and may be up to 12 inches

in width. Texture is coarse and even. The grainis usually interlocked and sometimes very irregu-lar, Dark-colored gum streaks are said to be acommon feature of this wood. The wood weighsabout 44 pounds per cubic foot.

The timber is reported to season rather slowlybut well.

Berlinia has about the same average densityas white oak and its mechanical properties arealso very similar.

The wood is moderately difficult to workbecause of interlocking and irregular grain, butcan be managed with proper attention being paidto all operations.

The heartwood is rated as moderately durableand as resistant to preservative treatment.

Berlinia is reported to be unsuitable for ply-wood manufacture and can be utilized for manypurposes where white oak is used, except wherebending is a prime consideration.

BRACHYSTEGIA spp.Okwen

AF

About five species of Brachystegia are knownfrom West Africa and the Congo and specific dataare available only for B. nigerica from southernNigeria.

The heartwood is a light brown to medium darkbrown with high luster. The light-colored sapwoodis well defined and may be up to 6 inches in width.The texture is rather similar to or slightlycoarser than that of mahogany. The gram is com-monly interlocked and shows a pronounced stripefigure on quartered surfaces. The wood averagesabout 44 pounds per cubic foot.

The lumber is reported to season slowly butfairly well. Distortion is the main cause fordegrade, although there appears to be little tend-ency to end splitting and surface checking. Themovement of seasoned lumber is rated as medium.

The average density of okwen is the same asthat of white oak and its mechanical propertiesare also very similar.

Okwen is reported to be rather difficult to workand it is difficult to obtain consistently smoothsurfaces due to the steeply interlocking grain.

With respect to natural durability, okwen israted as probably moderately durable and theheartwood is extremely resistant to impregnation.

Okwen does not appear to be well suited for

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utilitation in the solid form, which requiressmooth surfaces, but should find application inthe decorative veneer field. Okwen has a ratherpleasing appearance resulting from its color,luster, and figure.

BROSIMUM spp. (Alicastrum group)Capomo, ojoche, ramon

AM

This group comprises a number of closelyrelated species occurring from southern Mexicothrough Central America into the Amazon Basinof Peru. The best known species in Latin Americais B. alicastrum, and it contributes its name tothis group.

Both sapwood and heartwood are a uniformyellowish white, except around knots and otherdefects, where the wood is a distinct red. Starchis common throughout the radius and this con-sequently may be considered as a “sapwood”species. Texture is fine; grain is straight toshallowly interlocked. The wood weighs about50 pounds per cubic foot.

Because of the abundance of starch, the wood israted as nondurable with respect to attack byinsects and decay.

No data are available with regard to seasoningand kiln-drying, although it is expected they wouldbe somewhat similar to those of hard maple.

Strength data are very limited, but indicatethat these species are appreciably stronger thanother tropical species of equal density. Shrinkagedata based on one tree of B. alicastrum show itto be equal to hard maple with respect to in-service conditions of swelling and shrinkage.

The high density coupled with silica accumula-tion make this wood difficult to machine withordinary machine tools. Brosimum uleanum wasobserved being used on a relatively large scalein the manufacture of Sewing machine cabinetsin Peru. In this instance the figured wood (wavygrain) was sliced for use in face veneer and thestraight-grained wood was utilized for structuralmembers. Seemingly little difficulty was ex-perienced in utilization and the net effect was avery handsome cabinet.

Logs showing wavy grain should find readyacceptance in the fancy veneer trade if they areprotected against degrade through stain and insectattack. Its high bending strength values suggestutilization as handles of impact tools.

BROSIMUM spp. (Utile group) AMSande, Cocal

Brosimum utile, which ranges from Costa Ricato Pacific Ecuador, lends its specific name tothis group of Brosimum woods that are appreci-ably lighter in weight and coarser textured thanthe Brosimum woods comprising the alicastrumgroup. Several related species of this group occurin the Amazon Basin. Considerable volumes ofstanding timber occur in the forests of PacificEcuador and Colombia where the vernacular nameis sande. This is also the name used in the U.S.trade. Practically all of the exportation of sandeis from Pacific Ecuador and Colombia.

The sapwood and heartwood show no distinc-tion, being a uniform yellowish white to yellowishbrown or light brown, The pores are moderatelycoarse and evenly distributed. The grain isstraight to widely and shallowly interlocked. Thewood rays generally show prominently on quar-tered surfaces because of their darker coloredcontents. In many respects, sande has much thesame appearance as white seraya (Parashoreaplicata) from Sabah. The utile series consists of“sapwood” species, just as the alicastrum seriesof species does. The wood averages about 33pounds per cubic foot.

The lumber seasons rapidly and easily withlittle or no degrade, except for material contain-ing tension wood, which is always subject to warpdegrade.

The wood is nondurable with respect to stain,decay, and insect attack and care must be exer-cised to prevent degrade from these agents.

Strength data for sande are too limited to per-mit comparison with woods of similar densitysuch as banak, although it is suspected that theywould be rather similar.

Normal wood of sande machines easily, takesstains, and finishes readily, and presents nogluing problems. Lumber containing tension woodhas been prevalent in some shipments and ischiefly responsible for machining difficulties,such as raised or fuzzy grain, and the rapiddulling and burning of saws due to the pinchingeffect when stresses are released in the woodduring sawing. These difficulties have led to thestatement that the wood contains silica and thatcarbide-tipped saws are to be used for mosteconomical conversion. Chemical analysis madeon a representative number of samples of sande

showed a maximum silica content of only 0.01 per-cent of the ovendry weight of the wood. Thisamount of silica can occur in any species andcannot be held responsible for machining diffi-culties. Tension wood may be a very importantfactor in the conversion of timbers in the densityclass of sande, but the deleterious effects can beeliminated or at least minimized by properselection of the trees in the forest. In thisdensity class, trees showing a definite lean oran obvious eccentric bole are best left in theforest.

Sande should find utilization for many of thesame purposes as banak, and with the currentdemand for molding species, it should assist inrelieving the ever-increasing wood demand ofthis industry.

BURSERA SIMARUBA AMGumbo-limbo

Gumbo-limbo ranges from southern Florida,the West Indies, through Mexico and CentralAmerica into northern South America Becauseof the resemblance of the wood to that of paperbirch, gumbo-limbo has been erroneouslyreferred to as “West Indian birch” and “Mexicanwhite birch.” The application of the name birchto this wood is very misleading and adds to thealready confused nomenclature of the tropicalwoods coming into the U.S. market.

The wood is uniformly white to yellowishwhite, a “sapwood” species as evidenced by theoccurrence of starch along the entire radius.Texture is fine to medium. Grain is usuallystraight. The wood is soft and light, averagingabout 24 pounds per cubic foot.

The lumber seasons very well with only slightchecking or warping. It is very subject to degrade(through stain, decay, and insect attack) unlessconversion is accomplished as quickly as possibleafter felling and the lumber is treated with anti-stain and anti-insect solutions immediately aftersawing. Total shrinkage is very low and theshrinkage-swelling that may be anticipated duringin-service conditions is about 1.1 percent radial-ly and 1.5 percent tangentially. These low valuesplace gumbo-limbo on a par with mahogany andSpanish-cedar.

Gumbo-limbo is easy to work with hand andmachine tools in all operations. The wood takes

9

stains and finishes readily and presents nogluing difficulties. Veneer logs can be peeled onthe rotary lathe without preliminary heating.

The wood is nondurable in use with respect toconditions favoring stain, decay, and insect attack.The seasoned wood is suitable for interior useonly. Appropriate precautions must be taken toensure production of bright and clean lumber orveneer.

Gumbo-limbo is in the density range of easternwhite pine, but available strength data indicatethat its strength properties are appreciably belowthose of eastern white pine.

The low density and good dimensional stabilityof gumbo-limbo suggest utilization in the patternindustry and for core stock

Difficulties encountered in the utilization ofgumbo-limbo are the frequent crookedness ofthe logs, highly perishable nature of the wood,and occurrence of tension wood. The latter condi-tion is generally responsible for machining andfinishing difficulties as well as the excessivebuckling of veneers. Proper selection of logs forconversion and their subsequent care would assistmaterially in the reduction of degrade in thisspecies.

CALOPHYLLUM BBASILIENSESanta Maria, Maria

AM

Some botanists attribute several species to thegenus Calophyllum, and others regard the genusas consisting of a single species with severalgeographical forms in Latin America. From thestandpoint of the wood, the genus may be con-sidered to consist of a single species.

Santa Maria ranges from the West Indies tosouthern Mexico and southward through CentralAmerica into Northern South America

The heartwood is pinkish to brick red or richreddish brown and marked by a fine and slightlydarker striping of parenchyma tissue on flatsawnsurfaces. The sapwood is lighter in color andgenerally distinct from the heartwood. Textureis medium and fairly uniform The grain isinterlocked and shows a broad stripe pattern onquartered surfaces. Luster is medium The heart-wood is rather similar in appearance to the redlauan of the Philippines. The wood averages about38 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood is moderately difficult to season andflatsawn boards in the usual nominal thicknesses

are very prone to twist. This can be avoided byquartersawing as is commonly done with the“Philippine mahoganies.”

Shrinkage is generally low, and in movementbetween relative humidities of 65 percent and30 percent it is lower than the hardwood speciescommonly used in the U.S. furniture trade.

The wood is moderately easy to work and goodsurfaces can be obtained when attention is paidto machining operations. In planing, the mostcritical operation for this species, it is desirableto use a cutting angle of 20° and machine speedsthat will produce 20 or more knife cuts per inch.The best machining results are obtained at amoisture content of 6 to 7 percent.

Santa Maria is in the density of class of hardmaple and its strength properties are generallysimilar, with the exception of hardness, in whichproperty hard maple is superior to Santa Maria

The heartwood is generally rated as moderatelydurable to very durable in contact with theground, but apparently has little resistanceagainst termites and marine borers.

The inherent natural durability, color, andfigure on the quarter suggest utilization as faceveneer for plywood in boat construction.

CALYCOPHYLLUM spp.Capirona, Degame

AM

A genus of about five species found throughoutmost of Latin America. The species best knownin the United States and particularly in the archeryfield is degame (Calyconhyllum candidissimum),which was imported in the past in some quantitiesfrom Cuba. “Glass” products have now almostcompletely replaced degame in archery bow staveproduction. Capirona (C. spruceanum) of theAmazon Basin is a much larger tree and occursin considerably greater abundance than degame.The information presented here is based primari-ly on degame, but because of the almost identicalnature of capirona, the data should be applicableto the latter species.

The heartwood of degame ranges from a lightbrown to gray, while that of capirona has adistinct yellowish cast. In either species there isno sharp demarcation of heartwood and sapwood.The texture is fine and uniform. The grain isusually straight or infrequently shows a shallowinterlocking, which may produce a narrow andindistinct strip on quartered faces. The luster is

FPL 125 10

medium and the wood is without odor and taste.The wood weighs about 50 pounds per cubic foot.

It has been stated that degame tends to warpwhen dried in small sizes such as those used forarchery bow staves. Air seasoning characteristicsfor 5/4 lumber are not available. Observationsmade on 9/4 plank material at Yale indicatedslight surface and end checking during air season-ing.

Shrinkage is moderate and practically identicalfor both degame and capirona. Values obtainedat Yale for two trees of degame from Venezuelawere 4.8 percent radially and 8.6 percent tan-gentially. Values for four trees from Peru ob-tained at the Forest Products Laboratory were4.7 percent radially and 8.5 percent tangentially.The in-service movement for capirona from Peruwas 1.7 percent radially and 2.8 percent tan-gentially: these values are like those for hardmaple. Natural durability is low when the wood isused under conditions favorable to stain, decay,and insect attack.

In strength, degame is above the average forwoods of similar density. Tests made at Yaleshow degame superior to persimmon (Diospyrosvirginiana) in all respects but hardness. Limitedtests on hardness of capirona from Peru gavehigher values of side hardness than those ofdegame or persimmon.

Degame is moderately difficult to machinebecause of its density and hardness, although itproduces no appreciable dulling effect on cuttingtools. Machined surfaces are very smooth andonly insignificant chipping has been noted onquartered surfaces in which interlocking grain waspresent.

Degame and capirona are little used in theUnited States at the present time, but the charac-teristics of the wood should make it particularlyadaptable for shuttles, picker sticks, and othertextile industry items in which resilience andstrength are required. The fine texture anddensity would encourage its use in the manufac-ture of specialty items such as scales and wouldmake an excellent “printing” wood. It should findapplication for many of the same purposes ashard maple and yellow birch.

CANARIUM SCHWEINFURTHIIAiele

AF

Although there are a number of species of

Canarium in tropical Africa, only this speciesseems to be of economic importance in theregion.

The heartwood is a light pinkish brown, some-what resembling okoume in general appearancebut heavier and coarser textured. The grain isinterlocked and produces a stripe pattern onquartered surfaces. The wood weighs about 33pounds per cubic foot,

The wood appears to season rather slowly butfairly well. Collapse may be troublesome andthere is a tendency toward end splitting. Themovement of the wood in service is rated asmedium

Aiele is reported to work easily with machineand hand tools, but has a fairly severe bluntingeffect on cutting edges due to the occurrence ofsilica in the wood,

The wood has the same average density asmahogany, but its mechanical properties aregenerally lower in all respects with the exceptionof shear, in which it is superior.

The wood is rated as nondurable and the heart-wood is extremely resistant to impregnation.

Aiele is not likely to find utilization in theUnited States in the solid or lumber form becauseof its silica content. In the form of plywood itcould find use for both utility and decorativepurposes.

CARAPA spp.Andiroba, cedro macho, crabwood

AM

A genus of five species, four of which arenative to Latin America and one in Africa.

The American species are Carapa guianensis,ranging from the West Indies and Central Americato western Ecuador and Colombia, into Venezuela,the Guianas, Amazonian Brazil and eastern Peru;C. nicaraguensis which overlaps the range ofC. guianensis fromNicaragua to western Ecuador:C. surinamensis limited to Surinam and FrenchGuiana; and C. macrocarpa known only from theState of Para, Brazil. The African species, C.procera, often attributed to America does notoccur in the Western Hemisphere. The species ofcommercial importance are C. guianensis andC. nicaraguensis.

The heartwood of freshly cut C. guianensisvaries from pinkish to dark red and becomes auniform reddish brown upon exposure. In C.nicaraguensis the heartwood generally ranges

11

from a light brown to a golden brown. Luster isvariable and neither taste nor odor is distinctive,The grain is commonly shallowly interlocked andshows a narrow stripe figure on quartered sur-faces. The texture is similar to that of mahogany,The wood of C. guianensis averages about 38pounds per cubic foot, and that of C. nicaraguen-sis about 29 pounds.

According to the British Laboratory, the woodof C. guianensis seasons well but rather slowlyand has a tendency to split in the initial stages.Longitudinal distortion may be severe in lumberwhere pronounced tension wood is present,

Strength values for C. guianensis are generallysimilar to those of white oak except in compres-sion perpendicular to grain. side hardness, andshear, where white oak has a definite superiority.Strength values for C. nicaraguensis are verylimited, but suggest values which are propor-tionate with its lower average specific gravity.

C. guianensis machines well in all operationsbut fuzzing may be anticipated when streaks oftension wood occur in the lumber. Limitedmachining tests on C. nicaraguensis showed it tobe well below average with respect to planing,shaping, and sanding, but these are not to beconsidered as conclusive because tension woodwas prevalent in the material available fortesting.

Decay resistance studies on C. guianensis gaveit a rating of durable to very durable, whilethose for C. nicaraguensis rate it only as mod-erately durable.

The wood is well suited for the manufactureof furniture, millwork, and decorative plywoodand should also find utilization in the boatbuilding industry. It is, of course, obvious thattension wood be eliminated for most efficientutilization.

CARINIANA spp.Albarco, bacu, jequitiba

A M

A genus of about 10 species distributed fromeastern Peru and northern Bolivia through Brazilinto Venezuela and Colombia. The northernmostspecies, Cariniana pyriformis, is known as al-barco in Colombia and bacu in Venezuela. C.legalis appears to be the species best known asjequitiba in eastern Brazil and C. domestica andC. estrellensis probably are also included underthis name. Several of the Amazonian species pass

under the name tauary.The sapwood is gray to light brown and gen-

erally distinct from the brown to red-brownheartwood. The grain may be straight or morecommonly with a shallow interlocking of thegrain, which produces a mild appearing andnarrow strip on quartered surfaces. The lusteris medium; the wood is without odor or taste.Plank material of jequitiba tested at the BritishLaboratory gave a weight of about 36 pounds percubic foot.

No seasoning information is available. For awood of this density class the shrinkage is ratherlow and in this respect compares favorably withour native cedars of much lower density.

Strength data are limited and the tests madeat the British Laboratory on plank material ofjequitiba show it to be similar in all respects towhite oak.

The heartwood is rated as probably durablewith respect to decay.

The working properties of Cariniana vary con-siderably and apparently are dependent upon thespecies under consideration, The British Labora-tory reports that jequitiba works easily withlittle blunting effect on cutting edges, and iscomparable in this respect with. the better gradesof straight-grained American mahogany. On theother hand, albarco, which was first introducedinto the United States about the turn of the cen-tury as “Colombian mahogany,” lost favor veryrapidly because of its rapid dulling effect on cut-ting edges. All species of Cariniana are knownto accumulate silica, and a microscopic examina-tion of these species at the Forest ProductsLaboratory gave results that seem to accountfor differences in dulling effect, The wood ofCariniana pyriformis was observed to accumulatesilica particles of appreciably larger size and ingreater abundance than in any other of the sixspecies examined. The silica content was notdetermined quantitatively by chemical analysis,but the fact that it is optically visible suggeststhat the amounts present are in excess of 0.05percent.

Albarco could undoubtedly be handled in thesolid form with appropriate cutting tools andshould offer less difficulty in veneering. Jequitibahas already been shown to be readily worked withordinary cutting tools.

In Brazil, jequitiba is used for many purposeswhich include construction and furniture manu-facturing, and in place of mahogany in shipbuilding.

FPL 125 12

CEDRELA spp.Cedro, Spanish-cedar

AM

A genus of seven species distributed fromMexico to the West Indies and found in all of theLatin American countries with the exception ofChile. Prior to the exhaustive study of this genuspublished at the Field Museum of Natural Historyin 1960, the genus consisted of a nomenclaturalmess of 37 species plus a number of varietiesand forms. The most important and most wide-spread species are Cedrela odorata, C. angusti-folia, and C. fissilis. The name Cedrela mexicanafrequently encountered in the literature is asynonym of C. odorata.

Freshly cut heartwood is pinkish to reddishbrown and upon exposure it becomes red or darkreddish brow-n, sometimes with a purplish cast.It is reported to be darkest in color when grownon the drier sites and this type of wood is saidto be preferred by local craftsmen. The woodranges from diffuse porous to decidedly ring-porous, the latter condition producing a distinctgrowth-ring pattern on flatsawn surfaces orrotary-cut veneer. The grain is generally straight,although interlocking to some degree may occur,The wood has a medium to high luster whichappears to vary with the depth of color, beinglowest in the lighter colored material. The heart-wood has a characteristic “cedary” odor. Thewood is coarser textured than that of mahogany.

On the basis of mechanical tests made at Yale,cedro with an average specific gravity of 0.40(green volume and ovendry weight) would besimilar to Central American mahogany in mostproperties except in hardness and compressionperpendicular to grain, where mahogany is def-initely superior. Most of the imported wood fallsinto the 0.34 to 0.38 range of specific gravityclass and, as a consequence. its mechanicalproperties would be proportionately lower thanthose shown in the table. The wood weighs about26 pounds per cubic foot.

Cedro is considered easy to season by eitherair drying or kiln drying methods. In the tropicsit is common practice to end-rack the lumber inthe sun and little, if any, seasoning degrade isencountered. Shrinkage is low and uniform; in-service movement of unfinished wood is about1.2 percent radially and 1.5 percent tangentially.

Cedro contains a gum-like substance with avolatile aromatic oil. The exudate is likely to stainmaterials in intimate contact with the wood and

boards in similar contact may literally becomeglued together, Cedro dried by conventional meth-ods is not recommended for such products asclosed cases for clocks and other types of pre-cision instruments, because the volatiles condenseon the metal parts and materially reduce theefficiency of the mechanism The volatile contentof the wood can be materially reduced by kilndrying the unsurfaced stock to a moisture contentof 6 to 8 percent and then heating at 200° F. for8 to 17 hours at a relative humidity of 60 percent.The oils and gums will exude to the rough sur-faces, which can then be removed in subsequentplaning.

Among importers of cedro it is the generalconsensus that wood from certain areas, princi-pally Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Amazonregion, shows more exudate than wood from otherareas. Cedro from Mexico, British Honduras,and Guatemala infrequently shows such exudationsand is therefore favored.

The heartwood of cedro shows considerablevariation with respect to decay resistance. Woodin the lower density class which is usuallylighter than average with respect to color maybe rated from nondurable to moderately durable.Wood of average and better characteristics cangenerally be classified as resistant to veryresistant. Wood of the latter type is also con-sidered to be more resistant to dry-wood termiteattack than mahogany, The sapwood is subject toattack by powder-post beetles.

Cedro is worked very easily with both hand andpower tools, giving good results in all machiningoperations. Tension wood, when present, mayresult in grain tearing and fuzzing of surfaces incertain operations. The logs can be veneeredwithout heating and the resulting veneer driedexceptionally well and has good gluing properties.

Cedro is used locally for all purposes where aneasy working, light but strong, straight-grained,and durable wood is required. The wood hascharacteristics which recommend it for millwork,cabinets, patterns, musical instruments, boats,decorative veneer, and a multitude of other uses.Cedro and mahogany are the classic timbers ofLatin America.

CEIBA PENTANDRACeiba, fuma

AF

Ceiba pentandra is found throughout the tropics

13

of the world, but the importation of this speciesinto the U.S. has been only from Africa underthe name fuma. Fuma has been used primarilyfor corestock, but has now been largely replacedby lupuna (Ceiba samauma), which is a firmerwood and more readily peeled than fuma. Bothspecies occupy the same range in the AmazonBasin. Ceiba pentandra exhibits a considerablerange of variability, particularly with respect tospecific gravity and also with moisture content.Specimens of this species from Ecuador gaveamazing moisture content values ranging from632 to 1047 percent and a specific gravityaverage of 0.089 based on volume when greenand weight when ovendry.

CEIBA SAMAUMALupuna, samauma

AM

Ceiba samauma which is native to the AmazonBasin is known as lupuna in the Peruvian Amazonand as samauma in its Brazilian range. The namelupuna has been generally adopted by the U.S.trade. When this species was first introducedinto the United States it was believed to be aspecies of Chorisia, which is closely related toCeiba. Specially collected botanical materialconsisting of leaves, flowers, and fruits from anumber of trees have established the true identityof this wood as Ceiba samauma.

There is no sharp line of demarcation betweensapwood and heartwood. The color varies be-tween different trees, and ranges from a creamto a very pale reddish-brown Figure on flatsawnsurfaces is produced by rather conspicuous porelines and by the more or less evenly spacedparenchyma bands which demarcate the growthring boundaries. Figure on quartered surfaces isproduced by the somewhat conspicuous ray flecksand a ribbon strip resulting from shallowly inter-locked grain. The texture is moderate to coarse.The black “veins” found in this wood are traumaticgum ducts that result from injury to the tree.

The strength properties of this species havenot been investigated although a number of sidehardness tests made at the Forest ProductsLaboratory gave an average value of 500 poundsat a moisture content of 14 percent. In thisrespect, lupuna would rank between cottonwoodand yellow-poplar. Its strength properties should

be proportionately higher than those for Ceibapentandra, which has a lower average specificgravity. Lupuna averages about 23 pounds percubic foot,

Although lupuna is comparatively low in densityand uniform in texture, considerable care isrequired in seasoning to prevent excessive check-ing and splitting. Since some parts of thick greenplanks may range in moisture content up to 230percent, preliminary air seasoning may be morepractical than kiln drying from the green condi-tion. The moisture content falls very rapidlyduring ordinary air drying and care must be usedto keep the boards from checking, The wood hasa 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 percent higher equilibriummoisture content than native U.S. species at anygiven relative humidity. The movement of lupunafor in-service conditions is about 0.9 percentradially and 1.4 percent tangentially. Thesevalues are low and on par with those encounteredin Central American mahogany and primavera.

In machining tests made at the Forest ProductsLaboratory, lupuna performed as well as CentralAmerican mahogany in all respects.

The wood of lupuna, and that of all relatedspecies of this genus, is readily attacked by stain,decay, and insects and must be regarded asperishable and a “sapwood” species. The highstarch content of the wood makes it subject tobacterial attack resulting in the production ofbutyric and caproic compounds which possess veryoffensive odors. The odor may not be apparentin seasoned wood or veneer during periods oflow humidity, but it becomes more pronouncedwith increasing humidities such as may beencountered during the summer. The odors passreadily through overlaying veneer and finishes ininstalled plywood and. if the room area is rela-tively small and high humidity conditions prevail,the odor may become quite unbearable. The onlycure is removal and replacement of the offendingplywood. Whether the bacterial attack occurs onlyin certain trees or when an excessively longperiod of time has elapsed between felling andconversion is not known at this time. Seeminglythese highly “aromatic” logs could be detectedat the time of sawing or veneering.

The low density, good dimensional stability,and good machinability make lupuna ideally suitedfor both solid and veneer core and patterns.Lupuna should also find utilization in the moldingindustry.

FPL 125 14

CHLOROPHORA EXCELSA & REGIAIroko, kambala

AF

Both species of Chlorophora from Africa arecommonly known by the name iroko, but thetimber originating in the Congo frequently passesunder the name kambala. Chlorophora excelsaranges from Ivory Coast southward to Angolaand eastward across the continent into EastAfrica, Chlorophora regia has a more restrictedrange from Gambia to Ghana.

The heartwood varies from a pale yellowish-brown to dark chocolate brown with lightermarkings associated with the vessel lines, whichare most conspicuous on flatsawn surfaces. Thetexture is rather coarse and uniform, Grain istypically interlocked and shows a broad andwidely spaced stripe pattern on quartered sur-faces. The wood weighs about 40 pounds per cubicfoot. Hard deposits, commonly referred to as“stone,” may occur in these trees. They arelargely calcium carbonate and are deposited incavities probably developed. through some sortof injury to the tree.

The wood seasons well and fairly rapidly with-out much degrade. The movement of seasonedwood is rated as small.

The wood seasons well and fairly rapidlywithout much degrade. The movement of seasonedwood is rated as small.

The wood works with moderate ease in mostmachining operations and its dulling effect oncutting edges is about normal for a wood in itsdensity class. The “stone” deposits, however,can be very damaging to cutting edges when theyare not readily detectable and cannot be avoidedby the machine operator.

Iroko is in the density range of white oak, butits mechanical properties are generally belowthose of white oak.

The heartwood is rated as very durable and asextremely resistant to preservative treatment.

Iroko is not utilized to any large extent in theUnited States, but should be well suited for manypurposes where strength and inherent durabilityare prime requirements.

CHLOROXYLON SWIETENIASatinwood, East Indian

As

East Indian Satinwood is a monotypic species

15

native to central and southern India and Ceylon,The name satinwood has been applied to manyspecies representing totally unrelated genera andis applied properly only to one other member ofthe family Rutaceae, and that is the West IndianSatinwood (Zanthoxylum flavum).

The wood is a light yellow or golden yellow incolor without a distinct zone of demarcation be-tween sapwood and heartwood. It has an excep-tionally high luster on quartered surfaces, Thegrain is very narrowly interlocked and frequentlyis accompanied by an attractive mottle figure.Texture is fine and the wood is fragrant, Thewood is heavy, weighing about 60 pounds percubic foot. In side hardness this species is almosttwice as hard as sugar maple (Acer saccharum).

The logs of this species are usually of smalldiameter and generally average between 1 and1.5 feet in this dimension. The wood is utilizedin the United States only in the form of quarter-sliced veneer, which brings out to best advantagethe high luster and figure found in this speciesIt is an expensive and highly decorative veneerspecies.

CORDIA spp.Freijo, laurel, peterebi

AM

The genus Cordia contains numerous species.but only a relatively small number are trees ofcommercial size. The three most important spe-cies are Cordia alliodora (laurel) with the mostextensive range from the West Indies and Mexicosouthward to northern Bolivia and eastern Peru:C. goeldiana (freijo) of the Amazon basin; andC. trichotoma (peterebi) of southeastern Brazil,northern Argentina, and adjacent Paraguay.

The heartwood is light to medium brown,plain or frequently with a pigment figure out-lining the growth ring pattern. Sapwood is gen-erally distinct and of a yellowish or very lightbrown color. Grain is generally straight or shal-lowly interlocked. Texture is medium and uniformThe lustrous wood rays produce a distinctive andrather attractive pattern on quartered surfaces.Luster in general is medium to high. The woodis variable in weight, but in the same densityrange as mahogany and cedro.

The wood air seasons at a moderate rate anddegrade is generally limited to a moderate amountof warping. Surface checking and end splitting

are generally minimal. The wood saws andmachines easily with good to excellent resultsin all operations. It is reported to glue readilyand holds its place well when manufactured.

The Cordia woods are rated as moderatelydurable to durable when used in contact with theground, and are rated slightly above mahoganywith respect to resistance against dry woodtermites. The darker colored wood is reputedto be more durable with respect to decay andhave better termite resistance than the lightercolored material.

The strength properties of these Cordias aregenerally on a par with those of mahogany andcedro.

Because of their ease of working, good dura-bility, low shrinkage, and attractiveness, thewoods are used extensively within their areas ofgrowth for furniture, cabinet work, general con-struction, boat construction, and many other uses.The characteristics of the wood should qualify itfor use in the United States for many of thesame purposes as mahogany and cedro.

CYBISTAX DONNELL-SMITHIIPrimavera

AM

The natural distribution of primavera is re-stricted to southwestern Mexico, the Pacificcoast of Guatemala and El Salvador, and north-central Honduras. Plantations have been estab-lished within the natural range and are now pro-ducing commercial quantities of logs for lumberand veneer.

The wood of primavera is whitish to straw-yellow. The difference in color between sapwoodand heartwood is very slight and cannot bedetected in dried lumber or veneer, The lusteris very high. Texture is like that of mahogany.The grain is almost invariably irregular, butthe figure produced on flatsawn surfaces is notdistinctive. Quartered surfaces exhibit a widevariety of figure which is comparable to that ofmahogany and the satinwoods. The wood weighsabout 30 pounds per cubic foot.

Primavera kiln dries easily and rapidly withlittle or no degrade due to warping and checking.There appears to he no difference in the dryingcharacteristics of the sapwood and heartwood. Theshrinkage is low and uniform and movementvalues are on a par with those of mahogany.

Although primavera has considerable grain

variation, the wood machines remarkably wellin all operations. In machining, primavera ispractically the equal of straight-grained ma-hogany. The wood has excellent veneeringqualities.

The heartwood is rated as durable to verydurable with respect to fungus attack.

The strength properties of primavera areadequate for all purposes for which the wood isused. It is lighter in weight than mahogany andits strength properties are proportionately lower.

Primavera has been used in the furniture andcabinet industry of both Europe and the UnitedStates for many years. The dimensional stability,ease of working, and pleasing appearance recom-mend primavera for solid furniture, paneling,interior trim, and other decorative uses.

DALBERGIA LATIFOLIAIndian rosewood

AS

Native to most provinces of India except inthe Northwest.

The heartwood is a dark purplish-brown withdenser blackish streaks terminating the growthzones and giving rise to an attractive figure onflatsawn surfaces. The average weight is about53 pounds per cubic foot. The texture is uniformand moderately coarse; grain is narrowly inter-locked and produces an inconspicuous stripefigure on quartered surfaces which is somewhataccentuated by the presence of zones of darkercolor. The wood of this species is quite similarin appearance to that of the Brazilian and Hon-duras rosewood.

The timber is stated- to air dry fairly rapidlywith no appreciable degrade. The characteristicdefects of this species are slight surface check-ing and end checking and the lengthening of anyshakes that may be present. The central coreof the log very commonly contains numerousshakes. This species may be classified as amoderately refractory one, requiring a fair amountof protection against too rapid drying. The timberis said to kiln dry well, but rather slowly, andthe color is said to improve during drying.

Indian rosewood is a heavy timber with highstrength properties and is particularly hard forits weight after being thoroughly seasoned.

The wood is moderately hard to work withhand tools and offers a fair resistance in machineoperations. Lumber containing calcareous de-

FPL 125 16

posits tends to blunt tools rapidly. A good sur-face is Obtained In most operations under normalworking conditions and smooth surfaces are pro-duced in planing, particularly if a cutting angle of25° is used. The wood turns well and has highscrew-holding properties. Filling of the pores isdesirable if a very smooth surface is requiredfor certain purposes.

Indian rosewood is essentially a decorativewood for high-class furniture and cabinet work.In the United States it is used primarily in theform of veneer.

DALBERGIA MELANOXYLONAfrican blackwood

AF

African blackwood has a rather extensive rangein Africa and occurs in the savannah regionsfrom Senegal and northern Nigeria eastward toSudan and Abyssinia and southward into Transvaal.The trees are small and usually of poor form sothat the amount of usable wood from a given boltis usually small.

The heartwood is a deep brown to purple-black, the colors commonly alternating in narrowbands. The sapwood is yellowish and thin, up to1/2-inch thick.

Texture is moderately coarse. Grain is straightand luster is low, The wood is very hard andheavy, weighing about 70 pounds per cubic footat 6 percent moisture content.

The wood can be air dried satisfactorily, butthis must be done slowly to prevent degradethrough checking. African blackwood has beensuccessfully treated with polyethylene glycol-1000when in the green condition to improve dimensionalstability and to reduce or practically eliminatedegrade from checking. After treatment, season-ing presents no difficulties.

In the United States, African blackwood is usedprimarily in the manufacture of woodwind instru-ments. For this utilization, the wood is machinedwith metal-working equipment.

DALBERGIA NIGRABrazilian rosewood, jacaranda

AM

Brazilian rosewood has been an article ofcommerce for several centuries, but amazingly,there are no technical data available for this

17

species. It would appear that its early acceptanceby the makers of classic furniture mitigatedagainst the need for a thorough academic studyof the wood properties. At any rate, Brazilianrosewood or jacaranda, as it is known in Brazil,still maintains its long established reputation asone of the most esteemed woods of the world.

Brazilian rosewood occurs in the eastern for-ests of the State of Bahia to Rio de Janeiro.Having been exploited for such a long period oftime it is, at present, nowhere abundant.

The wood of commerce is very variable withrespect to color, ranging through shades of brown,red, and violet and is irregularly and conspicu-ously streaked with black. Many kinds are dis-tinguished locally on the basis of prevailing color.The texture is coarse and is commonly over-looked because attention is generally drawn tothe color. Grain is generally straight. Heartwoodhas an oily or waxy appearance and feel. Theodor is fragrant and distinctive. The wood ishard and heavy, thoroughly air dry wood is justbarely floatable in water.

The strength properties have not been deter-mined, but for the purposes for which Brazilianrosewood is utilized they are more than adequate.In hardness, for example, it exceeds by far anyof the native hardwood species used in thefurniture and veneer field.

The wood machines and veneers well. It can beglued satisfactorily, providing the necessary pre-cautions are taken to ensure good glue bonds aswith other woods in this density class.

Brazilian rosewood has an excellent reputationfor durability with respect to fungus and insectattack, including termites, although the wood isnot used for purposes where these would presenta problem

Brazilian rosewood is used primarily in theform of veneer for decorative plywood. Limitedquantities are used in the solid form for specialtyitems such as cutlery handles, brush backs,billiard cue butts, and fancy articles of turnery.

Due to existing shortages of Brazilian rosewood,present day shipments may include wood of some-what similar color but of finer texture, whichbelongs to the closely related genus Machaerium.Wood of the latter genus is known in Brazil bythe common name of caviuna

DALBERGIA RETUSA AMCocobolo

Dalbergia retusa, and very probably two addi-tional species in Central America and southernMexico, supply the cocobolo of commerce. Thisspecies is closely related to Brazilian rosewoodand is technically similar to it. Cocobolo differsprimarily with respect to color and odor, Coco-bolo heartwood predominates in the reds, yellows,and orange with dark pigment streaks; the woodhas a rather sharp “cinnamon-like” odor, Coco-bolo is used for the same purposes as Brazilianrosewood.

The fine dust arising in machining operationsmay produce an allergic response in susceptibleindividuals, which is generally a form of dermati-tis resembling ivy poisoning. It has been statedthat workmen whose perspiration gives an acidreaction are resistant, while an alkaline reactionindicates susceptibility. A good sawdust-collecting system is essential in the machiningof cocobolo.

DIALYANTHERA spp.Cusngare, “virola”

AM

“Virola” is the common name currently beingapplied to the wood of two or more species ofDialyanthera originating in Pacific forests ofColombia and Ecuador, The local name for thewood is cuangare and would be preferred forcommon usage because the common name “virola”is frequently confused with the botanical genusVirola. The two genera are closely related bota-nically and belong to the same family, theMyristicaceae. The manufactured wood has alsobeen called nutmeg in the trade journals.

The wood is a pale, pinkish-brown with amedium to high luster. There is no demarcationbetween heartwood and sapwood. Starch is abun-dant throughout the wood and thus it may beclassified as a perishable wood or a “sapwoodspecies.” The wood is generally straight-grained.easy to work, holds nails well, and finishessmoothly. In its gross appearance, cuangare mostnearly resembles the closely related banak ofthe botanical genus Virola. Cuangare averagesabout 25 pounds per cubic foot.

Strength data are not available for cuangare,but on the basis of anatomical similarity and the

fact that its average density appears to be gen-erally lower than that of banak, its propertieswould be proportionately lower than those of banak

Cuangare air seasons and kiln dries readily,Lumber containing streaks of dark color has beenreferred to as “brownheart” and these zones havebeen found to have moisture contents up to80 percent even though the normal lumber was ata moisture content of about 17 percent. Kiln-dried “brownheart” material will be appreciablyabove the moisture content desired for fabrica-tion purposes, and when used for corestock it isknown to collapse and produce wavy surfacedpanels. Kiln-drying studies of previously air-dried lumber indicated that, by using a mildschedule and by assuming an artificially highkiln sample moisture content for pieces with wetzones, such stock can be kiln dried to a uniformmoisture content without collapse, excessiveshrinkage, or honeycomb.

The best results were obtained using a modifiedForest Products Laboratory hardwood kiln sched-ule T5-C3. The elapsed time was 6-3/4 days,including equalizing and conditioning. Subsequenthot-pressing trials with some of the stock pro-duced wavy panels, and it is recommended thatmaterial containing “brownheart” should not beused for hot-press panel core stock.

Cuangare is currently being used in the UnitedStates for corestock (normal wood), moldings,interior doors, and paneling.

DICORYNIA GUIANENSIS AMAngelique, basra locus

Angelique or basra locus has long been incor-rectly identified with the botanical name Dicoryniaparaensis, but it differs from the latter withrespect to floral characteristics and its restrictedrange of growth Dicorynia guianensis is limitedto French Guiana where it is known as angeliqueand Surinam where the common name is basralocus. It is available in considerable volume fromboth countries.

Because of the variability in color betweendifferent trees, three forms or types are recog-nized by producers. Heartwood that is russetcolored when freshly cut and becomes super-ficially dull brown, commonly with a purplishcast on drying, is referred to as “gris.” Heart-wood that has a more distinct reddish cast and

FPL 125 18

frequently shows wide bands of purplish color iscalled “rouge.” Grayish-white wood. which ap-parently comes from trees that are late informing typical heartwood, is called “blanc.” The“blanc” type contains abundant starch depositsand in this respect possesses the characteristicsassociated with sapwood.

The grain is generally straight to slightlyinterlocked. The texture is medium. Flatsawnsurfaces usually show a pattern produced by thewood parenchyma bands, which appear violetagainst the background color of the wood Quar-tered lumber shows a more or less distinctivestrip figure associated with interlocked grain.

With respect to strength the wood is superiorto teak and white oak, when either green or airdry, in all properties except tension perpendicularto grain, in which it is surpassed by both. Thewood averages slightly heavier than teak or whiteoak.

Machinability varies with the different formsand this is reportedly due to differences in den-sity and silica content. Sawing is the least diffi-cult when the wood is in the green condition,although considerable dulling of the saw doesoccur. After the wood is thoroughly air dried orkiln dried, it can be worked effectively only withcarbide-tipped tools. A planer cutting angle of15° is said to be suitable for working this species.The wood finishes smoothly and is moderatelyeasy to glue. Silica analysis made on the Surinamwood gave a range of values from 0.20 to 1.70percent silica based on the ovendry weight of thewood. A value of 2.92 percent silica has beenreported.

The wood may collapse badly when kiln driedfrom the green condition, but if it is well airdried it can be kiln dried readily. It is subjectto checking and splitting during air seasoningand careful piling methods should be used. Thetotal shrinkage from the green to ovendry condi-tion is slightly less than that of white oak.

The heartwood is rated as very resistant todecay and resistant to marine borer attack. Localreputation indicates that the wood has consider-able resistance to termite attack and that the‘rouge’ form is superior to the others.

When exposed to weathering without a pro-tective coating, the wood develops characteristichairline checks that cover practically all of thesurfaces, This checking does not appear to becomeextensive with time and is not disqualifying for

most structural uses. The heartwood is quiteresistant to moisture absorption and in thisrespect is comparable to white oak.

Its strength and durability combined makeangelique or basra locus especially suitable forheavy construction, harbor installations, bridges,heavy planking for pier and platform decking, andrailroad bridge ties. The wood is particularlysuitable for ship decking, planking, boat frames,and underwater members. The wood is used inthe United States primarily in the form of tim-bers for heavy duty and durable marine con-struction. Small quantities have been used forflooring

DIOSPYROS spp.Ebony, African

AF

The genus Diospyros is represented in Africaby about 40 species but only a few produceenough of the dark-colored heartwood to be ofeconomic importance. The ebony of commerceoriginating in West Africa is believed to be D.crassiflora and D. piscatoria. Both species aretrees of relatively small dimensions.

As with most ebony woods, the color variesfrom nonuniform to a uniform black The best ofthe jet-black wood is said to be D. crassiflora.The wood is very fine textured, very hard andheavy, averaging about 63 pounds per cubic foot.

In small dimensions the wood is reported toseason rapidly and easily, but has a tendencytoward splitting or distortion.

Because of the hardness of the wood, it is bestworked with metal working equipment. Ebony isa specialty item wood and is used primarily forsmall parts of musical instruments, carvings,and items of turnery.

DIOSPYROS spp.Ebony, East Indian

AS

The species comprising this group are Indianebony (Diospyros melanoxylon), Ceylon ebony(D. ebenum), and Andaman ebony (D. marmorate).

The genus Diospyros consists of about 200species distributed through the tropics of theworld. Several reach the temperate zone, one ofwhich is the well-known persimmon (Diospyrosvirginiana) of the United States which is used

19

for golf club heads and shuttles. Within the genusthe wood ranges through shades of grayish-white,yellowish-white, reddish-gray, brownish-gray,purplish-gray, variegated black to Jet black, andinfrequently has greenish zones. The trees pro-ducing the ebony of commerce are usually small--1 to 2 feet in diameter--and may have a relativelysmall core of usable wood. The number ofspecies producing the ebony of commerce isrelatively small in comparison to the size of thegenus.

Ceylon ebony is an extremely heavy, fine, andeven-textured black wood. Irregular light-brownstreaks are commonly present but these are amuch less conspicuous feature than in most otherEast Indian species. The striping is characteristicin the Andaman and Macassar ebonies. Theaverage weight of Ceylon ebony is about 73 poundsper cubic foot.

The black portions of D. ebenus are reputed tobe very difficult to season as the wood developslong, fine, deep cracks, especially if cut torelatively large dimensions. It is best to convertthe logs to the smallest convenient size and storeunder protective cover from the sun. The bestresults in air seasoning D. melanoxylon are saidto have been obtained by girdling the trees andallowing them to stand for 2 years before felling,followed by 6 months of seasoning in plank formThe dark heartwood is liable to develop endsplits and surface checks and should be wellprotected against rapid drying.

The ebonies are extremely hard to work withboth hand and machine tools and have a considera-ble dulling effect on tool cutting edges. The woodis brittle and cuts harshly, producing a fine saw-dust. A very smooth finish can be obtained inmost operations. In planing, the material mustbe held firmly in the machine to prevent chatter-ing on the cutters.

The ebonies are utilized primarily in the turneryfield for many purposes, but particularly in themanufacture of parts for stringed instruments.In the cabinet trade the wood is used primarilyfor inlay work.

DIPTEROCARPUS spp.Apitong, gurjun, keruing, yang

AS

This genus consists of about 80 species of treeswidely distributed through Southeast Asia fromthe Philippines to India. Timbers produced by

species of Dipterocarpus are marketed collec-tively as yang in Thailand, apitong in the Philip-pine Islands, gurjun in Indian and Burma, andkeruing in Malaysia and Indonesia. Because thenumber of species producing yang and apitong isa p p r e c i a b l y less than the number producingkeruing, the timber from Thailand and the Philip-pines is considered to be less variable in itsproperties than that from Malaysia.

Sapwood is gray or buff with a pinkish orpurplish cast, 2 to 3 inches in width, and sharplydefined when dry. Heartwood varies from lightto dark red brown or brown to dark brown witha reddish or purplish cast. Grain is usuallystraight or only shallowly interlocked. Textureis moderately coarse but even. Resin canals(axial) occur in all species and when abundantmay exude resin over the surface of sawn lum-ber, particularly if the lumber is exposed to thesun or excessive heat, The various speciesweigh between 40 and 57 pounds per cubic footwhen seasoned and the freshly sawn timbergenerally weighs between 60 and 70 pounds percubic foot. Strength is, of course, variable withspecies and density; average apitong, for example,is appreciably stronger than white oak in bending,stiffness, and compression parallel to grain, butsomewhat weaker in shear and hardness.

Kiln drying is rather slow with a markedtendency toward development of cupping. In thick-nesses greater than 2 inches, the wood is veryslow to dry and it is sometimes difficult toachieve uniform drying. Resin exudation is oftentroublesome, especially if high temperatures areused, and existing surface checks will open up.Slight collapse may occur.

All species contain silica in amounts Varyingwith the species, but in general, the silica con-tent is less than 0.5 percent of the ovendry weightof the wood. In the green condition the wood canbe sawn and machined without serious difficulty,but the tool dulling effect increases as the wooddries. In some species the dulling effect may besevere when the wood has been air dried, andthe use of tungsten-carbide tipped tools, especial-ly saws is advisable. The wood machines to aclean, slightly fibrous surface. Quartersawn sur-faces may pick up in planing unless the cuttingangle is reduced to 20° Resin adhering to toolsand working surfaces is sometimes troublesome.

Durability varies with species. Some of thelower density species are regarded as nondurablebut most are at least moderately durable. Insect

FPL 125 20

damage is generally confined to the sapwood inthe case of ambrosia and Lyctus, but the heart-wood is very susceptible to termite attack.

The wood is rated as moderately resistant topenetration by preservative solutions, but thevessels are very readily impregnated. For ex-terior use the wood should be preservativelytreated,

The uses for the timber are numerous andvaried. Large volumes go Into mine guides whereit is unexcelled because of its availability inlong, clear lengths and its open pored nature,which permits retention of lubricants for longperiods of time. Another very important utiliza-tion is for heavy-duty flooring, particularly inbox cars and trucks where its uniform texture isa distinct advantage over species showing amarked contrast within the growth ring. Otheruses include keels, bumpers, and stems for boatbuilding; dock planking and fenders; pallets;acid pickle boxes; agitators for chemical solu-tions; and platforms around chemical vats.

DISTEMONANTHUS BENTHAMIANUS AFAyan, movingui

This genus represented by a single species iswidely distributed through the rain forest zone ofWest Africa.

The heartwood varies from a yellow to ayellow-brown, the heavier material generallybeing darker in color, The sapwood is straw-colored, narrow, and usually distinct from theheartwood. Texture is similar to mahogany.Grain is interlocked to wavy and variable; lusteris high. The wood contains a yellow extractivewhich is visible in the pores as a yellow deposit.It is also an accumulator of silica and showsconsiderable variation in this respect; the denserwood generally possessing the greater accumula-tion. The wood weighs about 42 pounds Per cubicfoot.

The lumber is reported to be readily seasonedwith little degrade. The movement of seasonedwood is rated as small.

Movingui has the same average density aswhite oak and its mechanical properties are alsovery similar in all respects.

The heartwood is rated as being moderatelydurable and resistant to preservative treatment.

Because of the variability with respect to silicaaccumulation, the wood varies considerably with

21

respect to its dulling effect on cutting tools. Inaddition to silica, the occurrence of interlockedgrain may present additional machining dif-ficulties unless suitable precautions are taken.The wood can be glued satisfactorily.

The similarity of movingui to white oak sug-gests its use for many of the same purposes.The wood should not be used under conditionswhere it may come in contact with wet fabrics,because the yellow extractive in the wood actsas a direct dye on such materials.

DRACONTOMELON spp.Dao

AS

A genus of six species native to SoutheastAsia of which four are of commercial importance:d a o (Dracacontomelon dao), ulandog (D.sylvestre), and lamio (D. edule) of the Philippinesand sengkuang or laup (D. mangiferum) occurringthroughout Malaysia and New Guinea

The heartwood varies from light brown, gray-ish or greenish-yellow to reddish-brown. It isoften streaked with varying amounts of deepbrown or almost black. The sapwood is generallypinkish or grayish and up to 4 inches in thickness.From the Philippines it is reported that in sometrees the sapwood may comprise from 30 to45 percent of the volume of the log. Grain isstraight to interlocked and irregular. Texture ismoderately fine to coarse. Weight of dao is about38 pounds per cubic foot and mangiferum, 32pounds.

The wood veneers readily and is used pri-marily in the United States for decorative veneerpurposes.

DRYOBALANOPS spp.Kapur, keladan

AS

The genus Dryobalanops comprises some ninespecies distributed over part of Malaya, Sumatra,and Borneo, including North Borneo and Sarawak.The timber exported from North Borneo andSarawak is believed to be mainly D. lanceolata,though small quantities of other species may beincluded in commercial shipments. Malayan ex-ports consist of two species, D. aromatica andD. blongifolia. In Malaya the local name kapur isrestricted to D. aromatica, and D. oblongifolia isknown as keladan. For the export trade. however,

the two species are combined under the namekapur.

The heartwood is light-reddish brown, clearlydemarcated from the pale colored sapwood. Thewood is fairly coarse textured but uniform. Thefreshly cut wood has a characteristic camphor-like odor which fades in time. In general appear-ance the wood resembles that of apitong andkeruing, but on the whole it is straighter grainedand not quite so ‘coarse in texture. The resin ductswhich are in fine, whitish, concentric lines con-tain a solid material which does not normallyexude over the surfaces of the wood. The Malayantimber averages about 48 pounds per cubic footand the Bornea (D. lanceolata) is slightly lighter,averaging about 44 pounds per cubic foot.

The timber is said to season fairly well, witha slight tendency to split and check, but it isdefinitely less troublesome in this respect thankeruing.

The wood provides good and very. durableconstruction timbers and is suitable for all thepurposes for which apitong and keruing are usedfor in the United States.

Strength properties values available for D.lanceolata show it to be on a par with apitong orkeruing of similar specific gravity.

The heartwood is rated as very durable andextremely resistant to preservative treatment.

The wood works with moderate ease in mosthand and machine operations. It is somewhateasier to work than average quality keruing and,in general, has slightly less dulling effect on thecutting edges of tools. This is variable, however.and saw teeth are sometimes dulled rapidly. Agood surface is obtainable from the variousmachining operations, but there is a tendencytoward “raised grain” if dull cutters are used.It takes nails and screws satisfactorily. A silicacontent of 0.91 percent is reported for D. lanceo-lata, 0.39 percent for D. aromatica, and 0.12 per-cent for D. oblongifolia.

DYERA COSTULATAJelutong

AS

Jelutong is an important species in Malayawhere it is best known for its latex productionrather than its timber.

The wood is white or straw-colored and thereis no differentiation between heartwood and sap-wood. The texture is moderately fine and even.

The grain is straight, and luster is low. The woodweighs about 29 pounds per cubic foot.

A natural defect of this species, as in manyother timbers of this family, is the occurrenceof large latex traces or passages which radiateoutward in the stem at the branch whorls. Thechannel openings appear lens-shaped on flatsawnsurfaces, generally are about 1/2 inch in heightalong the grain, and are distributed in irregularlyspaced rows along the length of the lumber. Therows are generally 2 to 3 feet apart, dependingupon the spacing of the branch whorls. The pas-sages contain unlignified parenchymatous tissuein which are embedded numerous small latexcanals; the canals exude latex when the timber isgreen, but later dry and shrivel. In seasonedtimber the latex passages contain dried ribbonsof tissue which have become detached from thewood.

The wood is reported to be very easy to seasonwith little tendency to split or warp, but stainingmay cause trouble.

The wood is easy to work in all operations,finishes well, and can be glued satisfactorily.

The wood is rated as nondurable. but readilypermeable to preservatives.

Jelutong would make an excellent core stockif it were economically feasible to fill the latexchannels. Because of its low density and ease ofworking, it is well suited for sculpture and pat-tern. Jelutong is essentially a “short-cutting”species, because the wood between the channelsis remarkably free of other defects.

ENDIANDRA PALMEBSTONIIOrientalwood

AS

Orientalwood is native to the heavy rainfallarea in the coastal tablelands of northern Queens-land, Australia. It is said to be one of the mostcommon trees in that region.

The heartwood shows a general resemblanceto plain European walnut (Juglans regia) andshows almost as great a variety of coloration;it varies from light or pinkish-brown to darkbrown, often with pinkish, grayish-green or black-ish streaks. The grain is interlocked in varyingdegrees and frequently rather wavy, giving abroken stripe or mottle pattern on quarteredsurfaces. The various patterns have been de-scribed as straight stripe, irregular stripe,mottle with straight stripe, fiddle-back, and

FPL 125 22

finger roll. The medium and even texture issimilar to that of European walnut, but the woodis more lustrous and slightly heavier, weighingabout 42 pounds per cubic foot. The wood ac-cumulates silica in the wood rays.

The timber is said to kiln dry fairly rapidlyin the thinner sizes without any tendency towardsurface or internal checking. but with sometendency toward warp. Thicker materials arereported to be likely to split unless quartersawn.

The wood offers a moderate resistance to cut-ting by hand and machine tools when they aresharp, but has a severe dulling effect on thecutting edges of the tools, particularly saws. Theuse of special saws, having teeth tipped withtungsten carbide, is recommended where con-tinuous production is anticipated. The occurrenceof silica in the wood has less influence on veneerknives, and for that reason the wood used in theUnited States is practically always in veneerform. The flitches are commonly sliced on thequarter to take advantage of the stripe and mottlefigure produced in this species.

ENTANDROPHRAGMA ANGOLENSETiama, edinam

AF

A large tree of the semievergreen forestranging from French Guinea to Angola andeastward through the Congo to the Sudan andUganda.

The heartwood is generally a dull reddish-brown and distinct from the sapwood, which maybe up to 4 inches thick. Texture is similar tomahogany and khaya. Grain is interlocked. Thewood weighs about 34 pounds per cubic foot.This species is the plainest appearing of theseveral Entandrophragma species.

The wood seasons fairly rapidly and with amarked tendency to distort. The in-service move-ment is classified as small.

Tiama averages slightly more in weight thanAmerican mahogany, but its mechanical proper-ties are lower than those of mahogany with re-spect to bending and compression parallel tograin. Tiama is superior with respect to sidehardness and shear.

The heartwood is rated as moderately durableand as extremely resistant to preservative treat-ment.

Tiama works rather easily with machine andhand tools, but interlocked grain may give some

23

difficulty unless proper cutting angles are main-tained. The wood finishes and stains well andprovides satisfactory glue bonds,

Tiama provides both plain and decorativeveneer and is used extensively in this form.Other uses include furniture and cabinet makingand, to a certain extent, boat construction.

ENTANDROPHRAGMA CANDOLLEIKosipo, Omu

AF

A large forest tree ranging through WestAfrica to Angola and the Congo region.

The heartwood is a dull brown or purplish-brown and distinct from the lighter colored sap-wood which may be 2 to 3 inches wide. The tex-ture of kosipo is coarser than that of the otherEntandrophragma species and the parenchymabands are conspicuous on planed surfaces. Thegrain is interlocked. The wood weighs about 39pounds per cubic foot.

The wood is reported to season slowly andwith a marked tendency to distort. The movementof seasoned wood in service is rated as medium.

Kosipo offers more difficulties in machiningthan the other members of the genus and thismay be attributable to the combination of silica,abundance of parenchyma, and interlocked grain.Grain-raising and grain-tearing are commondefects in machining and veneering.

Apparently this species is little used becauseof the availability of related species with betterproperties.

ENTANDROPHRAGMA CYLINDRICUM AFSapele

A large African rain forest tree ranging fromSierra Leone to Angola and eastward through theCongo to Uganda.

The heartwood ranges in color from that ofmahogany to a dark reddish- or purplish-brownThe lighter colored and distinct sapwood may beup to 4 inches thick. Texture is finer than that ofmahogany. Grain is interlocked and produces anarrow and uniform stripe pattern on quarteredsurfaces. The wood averages about 39 poundsper cubic foot.

The wood seasons fairly rapidly and with amarked tendency to distort.

Sapele has the same average density as white

oak, and its mechanical properties are in generalhigher than those of white oak.

The wood works fairly easily with machinetools, although interlocked grain offers difficultiesin planing and molding. Sapele finishes and glueswell.

The heartwood is rated as moderately durableand as resistant to preservative treatment.

Sapele is used extensively, primarily in theform of veneer for decorative plywood

ENTANDROPHRAGMA UTILESipo utile

AF

Utile occupies the same African range as theother related species, principally West and Cen-tral.

The heartwood is a uniform reddish- orpurplish-brown and is distinct from the lightbrown sapwood. Texture is slightly coarser thanthat of sapele. Grain is interlocked and shows abroader and less uniform stripe pattern onquartered surfaces than sapele. The wood av-erages about 41 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood seasons at a moderate rate and showsa marked tendency toward distortion. The move-ment of seasoned lumber in service is rated asmedium.

The mechanical properties of utile are gen-erally similar to those of sapele and white oak.

The heartwood is rated as durable and asextremely resistant to preservative treatment.

Because of similarity of density and graincharacteristics, the working characteristics aresimilar to those of sapele.

Utile is used for decorative veneer, somewhatinterchangeably with sapele.

ENTEROLOBIUM CYCLOCARPUM AMGuanacaste

Guanacaste has an extensive range from south-ern Mexico through Central America into north-ern South America, including Jamaica and Cuba.

The sapwood is white and sharply demarcatedfrom the heartwood which occurs in shades ofbrown, occasionally with darker colored pigmentstreaks. The grain is commonly interlocked andshows a narrow to wide ribbon stripe on quarteredsurfaces. The texture is coarse, the vessel linesgenerally showing quite prominently on longitu-

FPL 125 24

dinal surfaces, Luster is high. The wood weighsabout 24 pounds per cubic foot.

Seasoning data are not available, but localreputation indicates that the wood air driedrapidly with little or no degrade. The only shrink-age values available are based on one tree testedfrom Guatemala. The total shrinkage from greento ovendry condition was 1.7 percent radially and4.0 tangentially. The movement between relativehumidities of 65 and 30 percent was 0.4 percentradially and 0.8 percent tangentially.

The normal wood is easy to work with handand machine tools and has good dimensionalstability in use. Tension wood zones may be com-mon in some logs and these are generally re-sponsible for considerable fuzzing and grain-tearing during machining. Wood from the centralcore of the tree frequently contains compressionfailures and makes such logs unsuited for peeling.

The heartwood has a good local reputation fordecay and insect resistance and is used for manyconstruction and general utility purposes as asubstitute for the more expensive cedro (Cedrela).Available strength values suggest similarity togumbo limbo.

The fine dust arising from machining the drywood causes irritation of the mucous membranesof most individuals, but this can be eliminated bya good sawdust collection system.

The low density and dimensional stabilityof guanacaste suggest possible utilization in theUnited States for corestock and patterns.

EUCALYPTUS DIVERSICOLORKarri

AS

A very large tree limited to Western Australia,occurring in the southwestern portion of the state.

Karri resembles jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata )in structure and general appearance. It is usuallypaler in color, and, on the average, slightlyheavier (57 pounds per cubic foot).

The timber is said to have a pronouncedtendency to check during seasoning, and underadverse conditions, the cracks become very deepin thick pieces. Although much more severe onthe tangential face, checking often appears onquartersawn material. In spite of the fact thatthe grain is generally much straighter than thatof jarrah, considerable trouble from warping isexperienced at times with thin stock Collapseis a little more prevalent than in jarrah. In kiln

drying from the green condition, very low tem-peratures and high humidities are advisable andperiodic steaming treatments are recommended.Partial air drying before kiln drying is advised,but care must be taken to prevent checking duringthe preliminary air seasoning. It is said that inkiln drying green material to 15 percent moisturecontent the shrinkage is 10 percent tangentiallyand 5 percent radially.

The heartwood is rated as moderately durableand extremely resistant to preservative treat-ment.

Karri is a heavy hardwood possessing me-chanical properties of a correspondingly highorder.

The wood is fairly hard to work in machinesand difficult to cut with hand tools. It is generallymore resistant to cutting than jarrah and hasslightly more dulling effect on tool edges. Afairly clean finish is obtained in most operations,but the wavy interlocked grain causes picking upin planing, particularly with a quartersawnmaterial, and a cutting angle of 15° should beused.

It is inferior to jarrah for underground useand waterworks, but where lateral strength isrequired, such as in bridges, floors, rafters, andbeams. it is an excellent timber. Karri is popularin the heavy construction field because of itsstrength and availability in large sizes and longlengths that are free of defects.

EUCALYPTUS MARGINATAJarrah

AS

Jarrah is native to the coastal belt of south-western Australia and one of the principal tim-bers of the sawmill industry.

The heartwood is a uniform pinkish to darkred, often a rich, dark red mahogany hue, turningto a deep brownish red with age and exposureto light. The sapwood is pale in color and usuallyvery narrow in old trees. The texture is evenand moderately coarse. The grain, though usuallystraight, is frequently interlocked or wavy. Thewood weighs about 44 pounds per cubic foot. Thecommon defects of jarrah include gum veins orpockets which, in extreme instances, separate thelog into concentric shells.

In the kiln drying of jarrah, warping is said tobe the principal cause of degrade. With narrowboards, such as flooring, checking is not serious

25

either in air or kiln drying, but with wide andthick flatsawn stock care must be exercised.Partial air drying before kiln drying is recom-mended; low temperatures and high humiditiesare advised when kiln drying from the greencondition, especially in thicker dimensions.

It is reported that in kiln drying green materialto a moisture content of 15 percent, the tangentialshrinkage is about 8 percent and the radialshrinkage about 5 percent.

Jarrah is a heavy, hard timber possessingcorrespondingly high strength properties. It isresistant to attack by termites and rated as verydurable with respect to fungus attack. The heart-wood is rated as extremely resistant to pre-servative treatment.

As with karri, jarrah is fairly hard to work inmachines and difficult to cut with hand tools.

Jarrah is used for decking and underframing ofpiers, jetties, and bridges, and also for pilingand fenders in dock and harbor installations. Asa flooring timber it has a high resistance, but isinclined to splinter under heavy traffic.

EUXYLOPHORA PARAENSIS AMPau amarello

Pau amarello is the only member of this genusand apparently is limited in its distribution to theeastern and southern portions of the State of Para,Brazil,

The heartwood is a bright, clear, yellow whichdeepens on exposure and is not sharply definedfrom the yellowish-white sapwood. Luster ishigh. Texture is rather similar to that of birch.The wood is without odor or taste. The woodweighs about 48 pounds per cubic foot. The grainis straight to shallowly interlocked or sometimesirregular.

No data are available with regard to seasoningand machinability. but it is presumed that thesequalities must be fairly good, judging from theesteem this species enjoys in Para. The reportedshrinkage values indicate very uniform dimen-sional changes in the transverse direction.

Pau amarello is somewhat heavier than yellowbirch or hard maple, but its strength propertiesare on a par with the hard maple.

In Brazil, and particularly in Para, pau amarel-lo is used primarily for furniture and flooring.For flooring it is generally manufactured in theform of parquet and mixed with darker colored

wood to produce attractive and rather strikingdesigns.

There appears to be little opportunity forutilization in the United States because the localdemand for the wood is considerable and is gen-erally equal to the supply.

FITZROYA CUPRESSOIDESAlerce

AM

Like “Parana pine,” alerce is a softwood. Thegenus Fitzroya is represented in southern Chileand adjacent Argentina by the single species F.cupressoides. Alerce belongs to the Cupressacaefamily, which includes the well-known softwoodsreferred to as cedar in the United States.

The heartwood is reddish-brown and sharplydefined from the narrow and very light-coloredsapwood. The wood is similar in most respectsto California redwood. The growth rings areusually narrow and the grain is straight. Thewood averages about 26 pounds per cubic foot.

Alerce is reputed to season readily and withlittle or no degrade. The wood machines easily.Alerce has a very good local reputation fornatural durability.

Limited strength data available for alerce sug-gest that its properties are generally somewhatlower than those of redwood.

Alerce is suitable for use for the same purposesas redwood.

GONYSTYLUS spp.Ramin

AS

The genus Gonystylus consists of about 25species ranging from the Philippines through In-donesia to Malaya. In many areas the trees arequite common in the fresh water swamps. Thetype species of the genus and perhaps the mostimportant in the export trade is Gonystylusbancanus, which ranges from the Malay Peninsulato Sumatra and Borneo.

Ramin may be regarded as a general utilityhardwood which averages slightly heavier thanhard maple and yellow birch and exceeds thesespecies in practically all strength properties.Normally there is no visual difference betweenthe sapwood and heartwood, both are white topale straw in color. The texture is moderate,

fine, and uniform. The grain is straight or slightlyinterlocked. When the lumber has been carefullyhandled and is free of defects and stain, it has abright clean appearance with no outstandingdecorative features. Under certain conditions logsmay acquire an unpleasant smell which does notas a rule persist after the lumber has beenthoroughly seasoned but may become noticeableagain if the wood is rewetted. There have beenreports that workers handling logs or wany lum-ber may develop a skin irritation which isbelieved due to the penetration of the skin bysharp-pointed fibers in the remains of the innerhark which are left on the log after debarking.Washing the hands with plain soap and water isapparently an effective remedy.

Shrinkage of ramin from the green conditionto a moisture content of 12 percent is reported tobe about 5 percent tangentially and 2.5 percentradially. In changing from a moisture content of18 percent to a moisture content of 12 percentthe tangential shrinkage is reported as 2.9 per-cent and radially as 1.3 percent.

With respect to natural durability ramin israted as perishable, but is permeable with regardto preservative treatment.

The wood seasons readily with little distortionbut with a tendency for end splitting and surfacechecking to occur. Many importers, customdryers, and users are generally not aware of thespecial seasoning and handling requirements ofthis species and some heavy losses have beenexperienced.

Potential users and processors of ramin shouldavail themselves of USDA Forest Service Re-search Note FPL-0172, “The Seasoning andHandling of Ramin.” for specific details whichshould be helpful in eliminating most of the dif-ficulties encountered in this species. Single copiesare available from the Forest Products Labora-tory.

In general, the wood works cleanly with machineand hand tools and has only a moderate bluntingeffect on cutting edges. The wood takes stainsand finishes readily and can be glued satis-factorily. As with most straight-grained wood inthis density class, the wood has a marked tend-ency to split when nailed.

Ramin can be used for a wide variety of pur-poses just as hard maple and yellow birch are,but the major volume being utilized in the UnitedStates at the present time is in the moldingindustry.

FPL 125 26

GOSSWEILERODENDRON BALSAMIFERUM AFAgba, tola

Agba is one of the largest trees of the Africanforest and is distributed from Nigeria to Angolaand in the western area of the Congo.

The heartwood is a uniform light brown andthe thick sapwood is distinctly paler in color.The texture is finer than that of mahogany.Luster is low. Grain is straight to shallowlyinterlocked. The wood weighs about 32 poundsper cubic foot. The wood contains a sticky resinwhich may be troublesome in green lumber, butas a rule well-seasoned lumber is not noticeablyresinous, although it seems that under certainconditions some exudation may occur. The woodtends to retain a slightly resinous odor.

The wood can be seasoned fairly rapidly withlittle tendency toward splitting and distortion.Some gum exudation is likely to occur, but thisshould not be excessive. The in-service move-ment of seasoned wood is rated as small.

Agba has the same average density as Americanmahogany but its mechanical properties are lowerin practically all properties except shear.

The heartwood is rated as durable and resistantto preservative treatment.

The wood machines well, finishes readily, andcan be satisfactorily glued.

Agba is suitable for use in both veneer andsolid lumber for many purposes requiring arelatively light-colored, easy working, and di-mensionally stable wood. It serves well for core-stock, decorative purposes, moldings, and otherutility purposes.

GUAIACUM SANCTUMLignum vitae

AM

Lignum vitae is another of the Latin Americanspecies which has been extensively used practical-ly from the time of discovery of the New World.The wood was introduced to the medical profes-sion of Europe about 1508 as a specific for manyof the most serious ailments of mankind. Itsreputation was so firmly established that for twocenturies its therapeutic value remained unques-tioned. Both wood and resin are medicinallyobsolete except in certain proprietary decoctions.

Guaiacum officinale, native to the West Indies.

northern Venezuela, northern Colombia, andPanama, was for a great many years the onlyspecies used on a large scale. With the nearexhaustion of commercial-size timbers of G.officinale, the principal species of commerce isnow G. sanctum. The latter species occupies thesame range as G. officinale, but is more exten-sive and includes the Pacific side of CentralAmerica as well as southern Mexico and southernFlorida.

The heartwood is distinctly green or olive-green and becomes very dark or even black uponlong exposure. The sapwood is white or yellowish-white and generally shows distinct green vessellines. The texture is very fine. The grain isstrongly interlocked, and shows a narrow andclosely spaced ribbon stripe pattern on quarteredsurfaces. Lignum vitae is perhaps the heaviestcommercial wood and averages about 75 to 80pounds per cubic foot in the thoroughly airdrycondition. The heartwood has a mildly fragrantodor and a pronounced waxy or oily feel.

The usual strength values have never beenobtained for lignum vitae and this probably stemsfrom the fact that it is utilized mechanically forits extreme hardness, durability, and self-lubricating properties. The hardness modulusof lignum vitae is about four times that of hardmaple, and this extreme hardness permits utili-zation as a self-lubricating bearing materialunder relatively heavy loads.

Shrinkage values are also not available, butbecause the wood is used primarily for under-water bearings, it must be utilized in its greenor saturated condition and shrinkage values areof no consequence.

The most important and exacting use of lignumvitae is for bearings or bushing blocks lining thestern tubes of propeller shafts of steamships andsubmarines. The blocks are machined to conformto the curvature of the propeller shaft on oneend-grain surface. and on the other side to con-form to the curvature of the propeller tube.

Numerous attempts have been made to sub-stitute other hard, heavy woods for use as under-water bearings but none contain the high guaiacresin content which makes lignum vitae self-lubricating and unique for this very exactingutilization. The genus Bulnesia, which is a closelyrelated genus belonging to the same plant familyas lignum vitae, is very similar in many respectsbut also lacks the high guaiac resin content whichis so essential for this particular use.

27

GUAREA CEDRATA & THOMPSONIIBosse, guarea

AF

The two commercially important species ofAfrican guarea occur throughout West Africaand the Congo region.

The two Guareas show slight difference intechnical properties, but for most purposes forwhich these species are used the differences areunimportant. It is general practice to marketthem under a single trade name.

Guarea cedrata heartwood is a pinkish-brown,similar to mahogany, but with a finer texture. Ithas a pleasant cedar-like odor which disappearswith time. Luster is high. Grain is interlocked.Guarea thompsonii is similar to G. cedrata, but isslightly heavier and the grain tends to be straight-er. The wood averages about 39 pounds percubic foot. Guarea cedrata weighs about 36 poundsper cubic foot.

Both species appear to season fairly rapidlyand with very little tendency to warp and split.Exudation of resin may cause some degrade inthe seasoned appearance of the wood. Movementof the seasoned wood in service is reported to besmall for both species.

Both Guarea species have a slightly higheraverage density than American mahogany andtheir strength properties are proportionatelyhigher.

The heartwood is rated as durable and ex-tremely resistant to preservative treatment.

Both species work fairly easily and smoothsurfaces can be obtained in most operations.Guarea cedrata is likely to have a more pro-nounced dulling effect on cutting tools because ofits silica content than G. thompsonii, in whichsilica is lacking. The silica content of G. cedratais very low and the maximum value reported is0.12 percent of the ovendry weight of the wood.

Both species are utilized in veneer for decora-tive purposes and also in the solid form forfurniture, interior trim, and boat construction.Because the seasoned timber may retain volatileresins, it should not be used for instrumentcases--a situation similar to that of Spanish-cedar (Cedrela).

GUIBOURTIA ABNOLDIANA & EHIEBenge, ehie

AF

Although benge (Guibourtia arnoldiana) and ehie

FPL 125 28

(G. ehie) belong to the same botanical genus asbubinga, they differ rather markedly with respectto their color. The heartwood of benge is a yellow-brown to medium brown with gray to almostblack striping. Ehie heartwood tends to be a moregolden brown and is striped as in benge. Ehieappears to be the more attractive of the twospecies.

The technical aspects of these species have notbeen investigated, but both are moderately hardand heavy. Benge is fine textured and in thisrespect similar to birch; the texture of ehie issomewhat coarser. Both are straight grained orhave slightly interlocked grain.

These woods are as yet little known in theUnited States, but would provide both veneer andlumber for decorative purposes and furnituremanufacture.

GUIBOURTIA spp.Bubinga, kevazingo

AF

The woods of Guibourtia demeusei, G. pelle-griniana, and G. tessmannii are similar in generalcharacter and are known as bubinga in theCameroons and kevazingo in Gabon and FrenchEquatorial Africa. The usual name applied in theUnited States is bubinga. The distribution of thesespecies overlaps. but G. tessmannii is reportedto be most common in the Cameroons and is theprincipal source of the local bubinga, while G.pellegriniana is most common in Gabon and thesource of kevazingo. Guibourtia demeusei iswidely distributed from southeastern Nigeriathrough the Cameroons, Gabon, and the Congoregion.

Bubinga, when freshly cut, is red to reddish-brown with purple veining, but after exposure itbecomes a yellow to medium brown with a pro-nounced pinkish or reddish cast. The veining thenbecomes less conspicuous and the wood bears asuperficial resemblance to some types of rose-wood. The grain is generally interlocked.

Although moderately hard and heavy, the woodis reported to saw without difficulty and finishwell. It is used mostly in the form of veneer fordecorative paneling, and in the solid form forarticles of turnery.

HURA CREPITANSJabillo, possumwood

AM

Jabillo, the usual Spanish common name forthis species, ranges from the West Indies andsouthern Mexico through Central America south-ward to northern Bolivia and Eastern Peru,Included in this range is that of Hura polyandrawhich is the more common species in Mexico andnorthern Central America. The latter species canbe differentiated only when in flower, and in allother respects the two species are similar.

The wood is yellowish-white to yellowish-brownwith no sharp distinction between sapwood andheartwood. In Surinam the lumber trade distin-guishes a “dark” and “white” variety of the wood.The “dark” variety is said to be of better qualitythan the ‘white” type, which is reputed to sawwooly, pick up in planing, and to be prone towarping and checking. The ‘dark” variety is alsosaid to make up only a small percentage of thetotal stand volume. Luster is high. Texture ismedium to coarse, the vessel lines usuallyprominent. Grain is interlocked. The woodaverages about 26 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood is moderately difficult to season: ittends to dry rapidly which prevents the formationof blue stain, but also causes a variable amountof warp and checking. Shrinkage and movementare low. The wood is relatively stable in use andundergoes only moderate dimensional movementin response to atmospheric changes. The strengthproperties of jabillo are slightly superior to thoseof yellow-poplar, with the exception of stiffness.

Normal wood machines easily and little or nodifficulty is encountered. The presence of tensionwood zones results in fuzzy and torn grain sur-faces in planing, particularly on quartered sur-faces. The wood finishes well and glues readily.It can be readily peeled and sliced for veneer,but tension wood zones tend to produce excessivefuzziness and buckling of the veneer in drying.

The wood is very variable with respect todecay resistance and very susceptible to termiteattack. Freshly cut logs are susceptible to bluestain and spraying with preservatives and promptconversion are indicated. The unpainted wood hasgood weathering characteristics.

Normal wood should provide a very good core-stock because of its low density and good dimen-sional stability. Locally it is used for boxes,crates, cheap carpentry, and interior trim.

29

HYMENAEA COURBARILCourbaril, guapinol

AM

The genus Hymenaea consists of about 30species occurring in the West Indies and fromsouthern Mexico, through Central America, intothe Amazon Basin of South America. The bestknown and most important species is H. courbaril,which occurs throughout the range of the genus.The majority of the species are known only fromthe Amazonian area. The following descriptionapplies only to H. courbaril.

The sapwood is gray-white and usually quitewide The heartwood is sharply differentiated andvaries through shades of brown to an occasionalpurplish cast. The texture is medium. Grain isinterlocked, and luster is fairly high. The heart-wood is without distinctive odor or taste. Thewood weighs about 50 pounds per cubic foot.

Courbaril is rated as moderately difficult toair season. Although courbaril is a heavier woodthan hickory or white oak, its shrinkage valuesare lower than those of the latter species. Thein-service movement that may be expected fromcourbaril is less than that encountered in nativeUnited States furniture species.

The strength properties of courbaril are quitehigh but very similar to those of shagbark hick-ory, a species of lower specific gravity.

In decay resistance, courbaril is rated as verydurable to durable.

Courbaril is considered to be moderately dif-ficult to work because of its high density, but itcan be finished smoothly and it turns and glueswell. It compares favorably with white oak insteam-bending behavior.

Courbaril has been little utilized in the UnitedStates, but should find application for a numberof uses. Its high shock resistance recommends itfor certain types of sporting equipment, or as asubstitute for ash in handle stock. It promises tobe a suitable substitute for white oak in steam-bent boat parts. It makes an attractive veneerand should also find application in the solid formfor furniture. The thick sapwood would providean excellent source of blond wood.

INTSIA spp.Ipil, merbau

AS

The genus Intsia consists of six or seven

species distributed through the Philippines, In-donesia, Indo-China, Malaya, many of the PacificIslands, and Malagasay. Two widespread speciescontribute mainly to commercial supplies: Intsiabijuga and I. palembanica.

The individual species of Intsia are not identi-fiable due to the range of variability shown bythe individual species in color, texture, and weight.The timber, wherever available locally, is re-garded with high esteem because of its manydesirable properties.

The sapwood is sharply defined, white to paleyellow and up to 3 inches in width. The heartwoodvaries from a light brown to red-brown or darkbrown. The grain is narrowly interlocked andoccasionally wavy; texture is moderately coarseto coarse and even. Luster is usually low, and thewood may have a somewhat oily or waxy feel.The occurrence of yellow deposits in the vesselsis characteristic of this genus and serves toseparate it from similar-appearing woods. Theheartwood ranges in weight from about 46 to60 pounds per cubic foot, and averages about 50pounds.

The available strength data show Intsia to beon a par with our native hickory species, althoughit averages somewhat heavier.

Intsia bijuga is reported to be readily kilndried from the green condition with little degrade,except for occasional moderate twist in someboards.

The only reported kiln drying schedule is givenbelow and is designed for 4/4 material.

Moisture content Dry bulb Wet-bulbchange points temperature depression

( percent ) (°F.) (°F.)

Green 130 1530 140 2020 to f inal 160 30

This schedule is said to be tentative. With thisschedule, 4/4 flatsawn stock requires 6 days todry to 12 percent moisture content, 4/4 quarter-sawn stock requires 8 days, and material air-dried to 25 to 30 percent moisture content requiresabout 4 days. Stacks should be weighed, and ashort steaming treatment of about 4 hours shouldfollow drying.

For wood of rather high density the shrinkageis very low: values reported for I. bijuga are4.4 percent tangential and 2.7 percent radial fromthe green condition to ovendry. The values re-

ported for I, palembanica are practically identical.The green timber offers moderate difficulty in

sawing and may be accompanied by pinching andsawdust packing. With airdry material, sawingis fairly difficult due to the density of the wood.With straight-grained material the machined sur-faces are quite good, but interlocked grain maycause some difficulties on quartersawn surfaces,Boring and turning properties are reasonablygood.

Intsia is one of the most sought-after of localtimbers, being second only to chengal (Balano-carpus heimii) in popular favor in Malaya. Amongthe special merits of the timber are its lowshrinkage, freedom from degrade in seasoning,freedom from defects, and its natural durabilityin certain circumstances. Locally the timber isused for outdoor structural work and ties, but itspleasing appearance when finished and low shrink-age promotes it to the class of good qualityornamental timbers suitable for paneling, floor-ing, and furniture.

JUGLANS spp.Nogal, tropical walnut

AM

The wood of the tropical species is generallydarker than that of typical American blackwalnutand the texture (pore size) is somewhat coarser.From the limited number of specimens availablefor examination it would also appear to be some-what lighter in weight. Logs frequently showstreaks of lighter color in the heartwood and thischaracteristic has caused some concern aboutthe potential utility of the tropical wood. Anotherfeature that is mentioned whenever tropical walnutis under discussion is the extreme slowness withwhich the wood dries. It has been stated that lum-ber to 5/4 thickness can be dried at the samerate as black walnut, but thicker stock takes anappreciably longer period of time and in thethicker stock the wood is prone to collapse andhoneycomb.

Tropical walnut peels and slices readily, but

Under the designation tropical walnut areincluded two species, Juglans neotropica ofPeru and J. olanchana of northern CentralAmerica. These species are mentioned herebecause of the widespread interest in walnut fromsources where lumber costs are decidedly lowerthan in the United States, and because so littletechnical information is available.

FPL 125 30

the veneer is also said to dry more slowly thannormal. Tension wood and compression failureshave been observed in a number of specimensand these invariably came from the central coreof the tree.

It appears that these species require a ratherintensive study, particularly with respect toseasoning and machining, in order to ascertaintheir true potential.

KHAYA spp.Khaya, “African mahogany”

AM

The “African mahogany” of the United Stateslumber trade is the product of two West Africanspecies, Khaya ivorensis and K. anthotheca.Khaya ivorensis occurs in the rain forests fromthe Ivory Coast to the Cameroons and Gabon;Khaya anthotheca occurs in the same generalarea but inhabits the regions of lower rainfallthan K. ivorensis and its range extends eastwardto Ugonda. Occasionally brought into the UnitedStates is K. grandifoliola, a tree of the inter-mediate zone forests where rainfall is low. Thiswood is appreciably heavier than that of the otherspecies.

The heartwood varies from a light pinkish-brown to a deep reddish-brown shade, not alwayssharply defined from the yellowish-brown sap-wood. The texture is similar to or only slightlycoarser than that of American mahogany. Althoughsome of the timber is straight grained. it isusually interlocked and produces a stripe figureon quartered surfaces. The wood weighs about32 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood seasons fairly rapidly and with littledegrade, When strongly developed tension woodis present, serious distortion or collapse mayoccur during seasoning. The in-service move-ment of seasoned wood is classified as small.

“African mahogany” is in the same densityrange as American mahogany, but is somewhatlower in bending strength and in compressionparallel to the grain. ‘African mahogany’ is some-what superior with respect to side hardness andshear.

The heartwood is rated as moderately durableand as extremely resistant to preservative treat-ment.

The wood machines fairly easily, although theusual difficulties may be expected when planingquartered lumber. As with many other species,

31

the presence of tension wood zones creates dif-ficulties in obtaining smooth surfaces. The woodhas good finishing characteristics and can bereadily glued.

“African mahogany” is used extensively in bothveneer and lumber form and for many of the samepurposes as American mahogany, except for pat-tern stock.

KOOMPASSIA MALACCENSISKempas

AS

The genus Koompassia consists of two speciesoccurring in the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia.K. malaccensis is the most widespread speciesand K. excelsa, known as tualang, is limited tothe northern portion of the Malay Peninsula.

Kempas is a hard, heavy wood of rather dis-tinctive appearance. The heartwood is brick-redwhen freshly cut and darkens on exposure to anorange-red with numerous yellow-brown streaksdue to the soft tissue associated with the pores.The sapwood is white or pale yellow, clearlydefined-and about 2 inches wide in large trees.The average weight is about 54 pounds per cubicfoot. The wood is rather coarse-textured with abright, natural luster. The grain is typicallyinterlocked

A fairly common defect is the presence ofstreaks or veins of hard, stone-like tissue thatmay be 1/4 inch wide radially, several inches intangential width, and may extend for several feetalong the grain. Well-developed defects of thiskind are sources of mechanical weakness inconstruction timber and may give rise to serioussplitting during seasoning. The wood has a slightlyacidic character and may tend to promote thecorrosion of metals.

Kempas is reported to season fairly well, butthe zones of abnormal tissue which are not anuncommon feature may give rise to serious split-ting during seasoning. A factor of some impor-tance is the low ratio of radial to tangentialshrinkage, which probably accounts for theabsence of serious splits and excessive degradein seasoning, notwithstanding a tendency to rapiddrying.

Kempas heartwood is rated not at all durablein contact with the ground under Malayan condi-tions because it is readily attacked by termites.It is also said to be “not particularly resistant”to wood-rotting fungi. Kempas is reported to

absorb preservatives radially and penetration isgood. Absorptions of 7 pounds of creosote inseasoned timber have been obtained with com-paratively mild treatments. As with many otherspecies, appreciable variation in absorption andpenetration may occur. The presence of abnormaltissue is a distinct disadvantage, as it appears toinhibit penetration while accounting for relativelyheavy absorption.

The timber offers a fairly high resistance tocutting in most machining operations. Its workingproperties are said to be somewhat similar tothe heavier species of Dipterocarpus.

Kempas is essentially a heavy constructiontimber, and when exterior utilization is antici-pated the wood must be treated with preservatives.This species is not likely to gain favor in theUnited States trade because of the commonoccurrence of abnormal tissue which may pre-sent numerous problems in conversion.

LOPHIRA ALATAAzobe, ekki

AF

A large tree of the heavy rain forest occurringin West Africa from Sierra Leone to Nigeria andthe Cameroons.

The heartwood is a dark red or deep chocolatebrown showing a mottled appearance due to therather conspicuous white deposits in the vessels.The much paler sapwood is about 2 inches thick,and sharply defined. Parenchyma bands producea distinctive “partridge” pattern on flatsawnsurfaces. Texture is coarse. Grain is broadlyinterlocked The wood is very hard and heavy,averaging between 59 and 69 pounds per cubicfoot.

Azobe is an extremely refractory species withrespect to seasoning. Moisture loss is extremelyslow and severe splitting and distortion are likelyto occur in thin stock. This species is commonlyutilized in the form of heavy timbers where kilndrying is not economically feasible.

Azobe is a very heavy wood and its strengthproperties are in the very high range.

The heartwood is rated as very durable andextremely resistant to preservative treatment.

Because of its high density, azobe is very dif-ficult to saw and machine. Generally the wood issawn only, because it is commonly used inrather large sizes.

The high strength and natural durability make

azobe particularly well suited for all forms of,heavy duty construction.

LOVOA TRICHILIOIDESLovoa, tigerwood

AF

Lovoa trichilioides, the most important of thissmall African genus, is distributed from SierraLeone through West Africa into the Congo andAngola. Information relative to this species isalso found in the literature under the synonymousname Lovoa klaineana.

The he art wood is a yellow-brown and oc-casionally marked by dark streaks which consistof traumatic gum ducts. The sapwood is gray orbuff colored, up to 3 inches wide and sharplydefined. Texture is similar to that of mahoganyor slightly finer. Grain is narrowly and closelyinterlocked, producing a characteristic and lus-trous ribbon stripe on quartered surfaces. Thewood weighs about 34 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood is reported to season fairly rapidlywithout much degrade. It is easy to work withmachine tools, finishes well, and provides satis-factory glue joints.

The heartwood is rated as moderately durablebut extremely resistant to preservative treat-ment.

Lovoa is within the density range of mahoganyand its strength properties are generally similarin all respects.

Lovoa is used in the United States primarilyin the form of veneer for decorative purposes.

MANSONIA ALTISSIMABete, Mansonia

AF

Mansonia is represented in west tropical Africaby the single species altissima, which occurs inIvory Coast, Ghana, and southern Nigeria.

The heartwood varies from a light to darkgray-brown, frequently with a purplish cast. Thewood often shows alternating lighter and darkerbands. The texture is fine and uniform

Grain is generally straight: luster is low. Thewood weighs about 37 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood seasons fairly rapidly and well withvery little distortion The movement of seasonedwood in service is rated as medium

Mansonia works well in all machining operationsand produces good surfaces under standard con-

FPL 125 32

ditions. The fine dust arising from certainmachining operations is reported to be irritatingto certain individuals.

The heartwood is rated as very durable andextremely resistant to preservative treatment.

The wood bears a resemblance to some gradesof European walnut and has been used as analternate for this species in some instances. Itis little used in the United States in either solidor veneer form.

MITRAGYNA CILIATAAbura

AF

Abura ranges from Ivory Coast through WestAfrica and southward to the Congo and Angola.

The heartwood is a uniform light yellowish-brown or pinkish-brown. The sapwood is gen-erally not differentiated from the heartwood.Texture is fine and rather similar to that of birch.Luster is low. Grain is usually straight or maybe irregularly interlocked. The wood weighs about35 pounds per cubic foot.

The lumber seasons rapidly and well withlittle or no degrade. The in-service movement isclassified as small.

The strength properties of abura are generallysimilar to those of American mahogany.

The wood is rated as nondurable and as mod-erately resistant to preservative treatment.

Abura works fairly well in all machiningoperations, but dulling of teeth in sawing seasonedlumber may be appreciable. Silica content up to0.24 percent has been reported for this species.The wood takes stains and finishes readily andcan be glued without difficulty.

Abura is rarely encountered in the UnitedStates lumber trade, probably due to the sawingdifficulty and because it is not considered anattractive wood.

MORA spp.Mora, Morabukea, Nato

A M

The genus Mora consists of about nine speciesranging from the West Indies through northernSouth America into the Amazon Basin. The prin-cipal species in northern South America areMora excelsa (Mora) and M. gonggrijpii (Mora-bukea), which are described below. Anotherspecies of some importance in this general area

is M. paraensis of the Amazon Delta and M.megistosperma (Nato) which occurs in the Pacificforests of Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. Moraexcelsa ranges from the Guianas to Trinidad andthe Orinoco River Delta, while M. gonggrijpiiis limited to Surinam and Guyana.

The wood of mora and morabukea Is almostidentical in appearance, structure, weight, andstrength properties. The sapwood is yellowish-gray, and may be up to 6 inches in thickness.The heartwood is sharply defined from the sap-wood and varies from a yellow-brown throughred brown to dark brown. Luster is medium.Texture is variable from medium to coarse. Thegrain is interlocked. showing a narrow to broadstripe on quartered surfaces and is also some-times wavy or irregular. The wood may have aslightly sour odor and a bitter taste. The lattermay become evident when the fine sawdust arisingfrom machining comes in contact with the lips.The wood is very heavy, weighing about 64 poundsper cubic foot.

The wood dries very slowly with appreciabledegrade. Shakes which are prevalent in the freshlysawn timber tend to extend during seasoning. Sur-face checking develops rapidly and degrade fromcupping and twisting is likely to be serious. Inkiln drying trials, considerable warp and somecollapse is reported even when the wood is driedunder a prolonged mild schedule.

The shrinkage is high and movement is alsorather high, both species being rather unstablein use.

Mora is appreciably heavier and stronger thanwhite oak and in this respect its properties aremore nearly like those of greenheart.

The wood is moderately difficult to work andtends to spring in sawing. It finishes to smoothsurfaces but pick up and chipped grain are likely‘to occur with interlocked and irregular grain.Timbers containing boxed heart are likely to splitrather badly, and for this reason such timbersshould be sawn to exclude the pith region.

The heartwood is rated as durable with respectto decay and insect attack Morabukea is reportedto be highly resistant to drywood termites andmora is rated as being more susceptible in thisrespect. Mora sapwood is readily impregnatedwith preservatives, but the heartwood is veryresistant to impregnation. The timber is notresistant to marine borers.

The Mora species are utilized for heavy dutyand durable construction.

33

NAUCLEA DIDERRICHIIBilinga, opepe

AF

Bilinga is a widely distributed species rangingfrom Sierra Leone through tropical West Africa,the Congo, and into East Africa. Most of theavailable literature is found under the synony-mous name Sarcocephalus diderrichii.

The heartwood is a uniform and rather dis-tinctive yellow or orange-brown. The pale coloredsapwood is about 2 inches thick and distinctlydefined. The texture is coarse. Luster mediumGrain is usually interlocked and irregular, pro-ducing a variety of patterns on quartered sur-faces.

Quartersawn lumber is reported to seasonfairly well with little checking and warping, butflatsawn lumber may suffer considerable degradefrom checking, splitting, and distortion. The in-service movement of seasoned lumber is classi-fied as small.

The heartwood is rated as very durable andmoderately resistant to preservative treatment.

Bilinga is reported to work with moderate easein most machining operations, but irregularity ofgrain is likely to cause difficulty in planingoperations.

Bilinga is somewhat heavier on the averagethan white oak and its strength properties areproportionately higher.

Since the wood has appreciable strength andnatural durability it would appear to be fitted forheavy duty construction as in dock work. Thecolor of the wood and rather “wild” grain effecthave mitigated against the acceptance of bilingain the fancy veneer trade.

NOTHOFAGUS PROCERARauli

AM

Rauli is a south temperate zone member of thebeech family (Fagaceae) occurring in Chile andadjacent Argentina between 36° and 40° southlatitude. It is the most important of the severalspecies of Nothofagus occurring in the region.

The heartwood is a uniform reddish-brownresembling the darker shades of sweetgum, butwith a more distinctive reddish cast. The textureis very fine. The grain is straight. Luster is low.The wood weighs about 34 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood is reported to season rather slowlybut with little degrade.

Under Chilean conditions the wood is reportedto be durable.

The strength properties of rauli are generallysimilar to those of silver maple.

The wood works easily, takes stains and finishesreadily, and presents no difficulties in gluing.

In Chile, the wood is used for every imaginablepurpose. The demand locally is appreciable andit is unlikely that any large volume will beavailable for export.

OCHROMA PYRAMIDALE AMBalsa

Balsa is widely distributed throughout tropicalAmerica from southern Mexico to southern Braziland Bolivia.. Ecuador has been the principal sourceof lumber since the time the wood gained com-mercial importance. Most of the literature rela-tive to balsa refers to the species as Ochromalagopus, but apparently the correct and properdesignation is Ochroma pyramidale.

The wood is a white to a very pale gray andmay show a pinkish cast. The texture is coarseand the vessel lines generally show prominently,Grain is straight or very shallowly interlocked.The wood rays appear prominently on quarteredsurfaces because of their darker colored con-tents. Luster is high and the wood has a veryunique “velvety” feel. The wood selected for usein the United States averages about 11 pounds percubic foot. Balsa is the lightest and softest woodon the commercial market.

Because the imported lumber is rather care-fully selected in Ecuador primarily on the basisof density, little difficulty is encountered in fur-ther drying upon arrival in the United States.Some lumber is known to contain “pockets” of highmoisture content and these are likely to collapsein drying, but because most of the lumber is pre-dried in Ecuador, such lumber is generally ex-cluded in the grading process.

Because of its light weight, balsa can be easilyworked, but sharp tools are required to preventcrumbling under the cutting edges.

Balsa, within the density ranges imported, ishighly efficient where buoyancy, insulation againstheat or cold, or absorption of sound and vibrationare important considerations. It is one of the bestenergy absorbers known. It is practically impos-sible to “waterlog” balsa and this is particularlytrue in the lower range of densities. Only the

FPL 125 34

vessels. which are few in number per cross-sectional area, are capable of absorbing solutions.

The principal uses of balsa include all types offlotation gear, core stock in metal-faced sand-wich construction, sound modifiers, aircraftmodels, and novelties. It is particularly impor-tant as an insulator in the transportation ofliquified gases which are at extremely low tem-peratures. At these low temperatures the strengthproperties of the wood are higher than thoseobtained at normal room temperature.

OCOTEA RODIAEIGreenheart

A M

The range of greenheart is very limited andcommercial quantities occur only in Guyana(British Guiana). This species has also beenfound in Surinam and adjacent areas of Brazil.

The heartwood is light to dark olive green andmay be marked with streaks of black or brown.The sapwood is a pale yellowish-brown or green-ish, about 1 or 2 inches wide, and mergesgradually into the heartwood. Local distinctionsbetween so-called varieties (known as black,brown, yellow, etc.) are based on variation inthe superficial appearance of the wood from dif-ferent trees or even different parts of the sametree. There is no reliable evidence that the use-ful properties of the timber are related to thesecolor variations. The texture is moderately fineand uniform; grain is straight. The wood weighsabout 64 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood seasons very slowly and with con-siderable degrade, particularly in the thickersizes. Kiln drying from the green conditions can-not be regarded as economical for thick lumber,and in practice, lumber over 1 inch in thicknesswould have to be partially air dried. Distortion isnot serious, but checking and splitting tend to besevere during seasoning. The British Laboratoryreports that the shrinkage from the green condi-tion to a moisture content of 12 percent is about3.0 radially and 4.5 percent tangentially. Themovement is rated as medium

Greenheart is fairly difficult to work with bothhand and machine equipment because of its highdensity, It has an appreciable dulling effect ontool cutting edges, although it is not a silica-accumulating species. Where smooth surfaces areessential, it is important to keep planer knivesin top condition, because even mild dullness is

35

likely to produce a fibrous or slightly torn sur-face. The fine dust arising from machining theseasoned wood may produce allergic responses incertain individuals, which are manifested in theform of irritations of the mucous membranes.

The strength properties of greenheart are ofan exceptionally high order even when its weightis taken into account. Its only deficiency is thatit splits easily, but only in the radial directionand in this respect offers about the same re-sistance as oak.

The heartwood is rated as very durable andextremely resistant to preservative treatment.

Greenheart is used principally where strengthand resistance to wear are required. Uses in-clude ship and dock building, lockgates, wharves,piers, jetties, engine bearers, planking, flooring,bridges, and trestles.

OCOTEA RUBRADeterma, wana, louro vermelho

AM

Ocotea rubra is distributed throughout theGuianas and the lower Amazon region of Brazil.This species is closely related botanically togreenheart (Ocotea rodiaei) but differs in manyrespects. The wood is distinctive and this, inconjunction with range limitations, makes it pos-sible to obtain the timber true to name.

The heartwood is a uniform reddish-brownseparated from the sapwood, which is narrow anddull gray or pale yellowish-brown. Texture iscoarse; grain is interlocked; luster is high onquartered surfaces. The wood weighs about 38pounds per cubic foot. It is very similar ingeneral appearance to red lauan and tangile ofthe Philippines.

The wood seasons at a moderate rate withsome tendency to check and split. The lumbercan be kiln dried using the same schedule asthat for the red lauans. Thick stock is extremelydifficult to dry even with prolonged kiln runs.Shrinkage is low, and the wood is very stable inuse.

Ocotea rubra averages somewhat heavier thanthe Philippine lauans, but its strength propertieson the basis of Yale tests would place it on a parwith the species belonging to the “light red”group. Tests conducted in Holland on heavierwood than that tested at Yale gave values whichwere equal to those of tangile.

The wood is easy to work and working qualities

are said to be comparable with those of moderatelydense mahogany, Ordinary conditions of machin-ing produce generally good results. The wood canbe glued satisfactorily,

Ocotea rubra is rated as durable to verydurable with respect to fungus attack and isincluded among the species that exhibit con-siderable resistance to marine borer attack. Thewood shows excellent weathering characteristicsand is highly resistant to moisture absorption,surpassing teak in this respect. The abundanceof tyloses in the vessels of the heartwood sug-gests that it may be extremely resistant to pre-servative treatment.

Ocotea rubra is one of the more common andmost widely used timbers within its region ofgrowth. It is readily available in considerablevolume and large sizes, and this, coupled withits ease of working and inherent natural dura-bility, provides a timber which is used for amultitude of purposes under both interior andexterior applications.

Ocotea rubra appears to be a species of con-siderable potential which has been overlooked bythe United States market. It should find con-siderable application in both the solid and veneerform in the decorative wood field and particular-ly in the boat-manufacturing field.

OXYSTIGMA OXYPHYLLUMTchitola

AF

Tchitola occurs in tropical Africa from Nigeriathrough the Cameroons and Gabon to the Congoand Cabinda. This species was formerly knownas Pterygopodium oxlphyllum.

This species is closely related botanically tocativo (Prioria) of the American tropics ‘and thewood is similar in most respects. The wood oftchitola averages about 38 pounds per cubic footand is thus somewhat heavier than cativo. Avail-able shrinkage values for tchitola indicate thatits total shrinkage is about twice that of cativo.

Tchitola is not likely to become a significantspecies on the United States lumber market.

PARASHOREA PLICATABagtikan, white seraya

AS

The genus Parashorea consists of about seven

FPL 125 36

species occurring in Southeast Asia. The princi-pal species in the United States lumber trade isP. plicata of the Philippines and Borneo. Theother species of Parashorea produce appreciablyheavier timbers and these are not considered inthis description. In the United States, bagtikanmay be encountered under its usual common nameor more frequently with the species comprisingthe light-red group of lauans. The heartwood isgray to straw-colored or very pale brown andsometimes has a pinkish cast. It is not alwaysclearly demarcated from the sapwood. The woodweighs about 34 pounds per cubic foot. The textureis similar to that of the light-red group ofPhilippine lauans. The grain is interlocked andshows a rather widely spaced stripe pattern onquartered surfaces.

Kiln drying is fairly rapid. Principal degradeencountered is twist in the thinner stock, whichmay be attributed to the wide interlocking of thegrain and is most apparent in flatsawn lumber.

With respect to strength, Philippine bagtikanexceeds the lauans in all properties. Its naturaldurability is very low and it is resistant orextremely resistant to preservative treatment.

The wood works fairly easily with hand andmachine tools and has little blunting effect on toolcutting edges. In machining tests conducted at theForest Products Laboratory, bagtikan was ratedas being intermediate, together with red lauan,in all or most of the tests conducted. In thesetests, results for bagtikan were exceeded byapitong and tanguile, but were superior to thosefor mayapis, almon, and white lauan.

Bagtikan is used for many of the same purposesas the Philippine lauans, but in the solid formand in thin stock it is best utilized in the quarter-sawn condition to prevent excessive “working”with changes in moisture conditions of service.It is perhaps most useful as a veneer for plywoodpurposes. In Britain it is best known as a deckingtimber which has been specially selected for thisuse in vessels.

PARATECOMA PEROBAPeroba de campos

AM

Peroba de campos occurs in the coastal forestsof eastern Brazil ranging from Bahia to Rio deJaneiro. It is the only species in the genus.

The heartwood is variable in color, but gen-erally is in shades of brown with tendencies

toward casts of olive and reddish color. The sap-wood is a yellowish-gray, clearly defined fromthe heartwood. The texture is relatively fine andapproximates that of birch, The grain is com-monly interlocked and may show a broken stripeor curly and wavy figure. Luster is high. Thewood averages about 47 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood appears to season readily and withnegligible splitting. Distortion is not generallyserious, although it may become severe in thinstock with very irregular grain. The BritishLaboratory reports that the shrinkage from thegreen condition to a moisture content of 12 per-cent is 3.5 percent tangentially and 2.0 percentradially.

The wood machines easily, but when smoothsurfaces are required particular care must betaken in planing to prevent excessive grain tearingof quartered surfaces because of the presence ofinterlocked or irregular grain. There is someevidence that the fine dust arising from machiningoperations may produce allergic responses incertain individuals.

Peroba de campos is heavier than teak or whiteoak and is proportionately stronger than eitherof these species.

The heartwood is rated as very durable withrespect to fungus attack and is rated as resistantto preservative treatment.

In Brazil, the wood is used in the manufactureof fine furniture, flooring, and decorative paneling.The principal use in the United States is in ship-building, where it serves as an alternate forwhite oak for all purposes except bent members.The wood is classified as a poor “bender.”

PELTOGYNE spp.Purpleheart, amaranth

AM

The genus Peltogyne is essentially limited totropical South America and extends northward toPanama and Trinidad. The majority of the speciesare found in the Amazon Basin. The genus con-sists of about 27 species.

Purpleheart is unique among tropical Americanhardwoods because of its distinctive purplish orviolet-colored heartwood. When freshly cut, theheartwood is brown, but with exposure it assumesthe purplish hue which darkens with time. Becauseof the number of species that may be encountered,variation with respect to depth of coloration,texture, and density is to be expected. The sap-

wood is an off-white to gray-brown and may berather wide. The texture is fine to medium. Lusteris low. Grain is straight, but occasionally inter-locked or irregular. The wood is very heavy,averaging about 52 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood is reported to season well and fairlyrapidly with little degrade.

Purpleheart is moderately difficult to work be-cause of its high density, but smooth surfacesare readily obtainable.

The heartwood is very durable, but very re-sistant to preservative treatment.

Because of the high average density of purple-heart, its strength properties are also very highand in general greatly exceed the requirementsof the uses to which it is put. In side hardness,for example, purpleheart is about twice as hardas white oak.

In the United States, purpleheart is utilized inthe form of sliced veneer for decorative inlaywork and in solid form for specialty items ofturnery.

PERICOPSIS ELATAAfrormosia, kokrodua

AF

Afrormosia is native to Ivory Coast, Ghana,Cameroon, and the Congo. The range of thisspecies is rather extensive, but the principalproduction is limited to the boundary area ofIvory Coast and Ghana. This species was former-ly known under the botanical designation Afror-mosia elata.

The freshly cut heartwood is a yellowish-brown. turning darker upon exposure to a palebrown or medium brown and losing most of itsyellowish cast. The sapwood is narrow, usuallyless than 1 inch in width, and slightly lighter incolor than the heartwood The grain may bestraight or slightly interlocked, the latter pro-ducing a narrow stripe pattern when the wood isquartersawn. Flatsawn lumber may show a dis-tinctive pattern arising from concentric zonesof darker colored wood. The texture is fine tomedium and only slightly coarser than that ofbirch. The wood weighs about 43 pounds per cubicfoot.

The wood is reported to season rather slowly,but very well, and with little degrade. The totalshrinkage for kokrudua is small and the in-service movement is rated as small.

Kokrodua is readily workable with both hand

37

and machine tools. Attention must be paid toproper cutting angles when planing lumber withinterlocked grain. The heartwood is classified asmoderate in steam bending.

The heartwood is rated as resistant to veryresistant with respect to decay organisms and itshows a substantially higher level of resistancethan is generally found in the white oaks.

Kokrodua averages heavier than white oak andits strength properties are also higher, with theexception of shear where the two species aresimilar.

Principal uses of kokrodua in the United Statesare in boat construction, interior trim, anddecorative veneer. Perhaps its most importantutilization in the United States is in the boat-building industry where it serves as an alternatefor teak.

PHOEBE POROSAImbuia

AM

Imbuia is native to the “Parana pine” forest ofsoutheastern Brazil in the States of Parana andSanta Catharina.

The heartwood varies through shades of brownfrom yellowish to chocolate. The sapwood is grayand usually distinct from the heartwood. The tex-ture approximates that of birch and maple. Grainis straight to curly and wavy. Luster is high.The wood weighs about 36 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood is reported to be easy to dry. Theratio of tangential to radial shrinkage is fairlyhigh and would suggest some difficulty with warp,but this has not been reported in the availableliterature.

The strength values for imbuia are very muchlike those for black cherry.

The wood is reported to be easy to workand finishes well, but care must be taken in plan-ing lumber with irregular grain to ensure smoothsurfaces. The fine sawdust produced in machiningoperations is reported to be very irritating tocertain individuals.

Imbuia is used in Brazil for furniture, cabinetwork, interior trim, paneling, flooring, and manyother purposes. It has been utilized to a limitedextent in the United States in the form of veneerfor decorative paneling. Supplies of imbuia areapparently limited and the demand in the consum-ing centers of southeastern Brazil exceeds avail-ability.

FPL 125 38

PINUS CARIBAEACaribbean pine

AM

Caribbean pine occurs along the Caribbean sideof Central America from British Honduras tonortheastern Nicaragua. It is also native to theBahamas and Cuba. It is primarily a tree of thelower elevations.

The heartwood is a golden brown to red brownand distinct from the sapwood which is 1 to 2inches in thickness and a light yellow. The woodhas a strong resinous odor and a greasy feel.The wood averages about 51 pounds per cubicfoot.

The lumber can be kiln dried satisfactorilyusing the same schedule as that for ocote pine.

Caribbean pine is easy to work in all machiningoperations but the high resin content may neces-sitate occasional stoppages to permit removal ofaccumulated resin from the equipment.

Caribbean pine is an appreciably heavier woodthan slash pine (Pinus elliottii), but the mechani-cal properties of these two species are rathersimilar.

Caribbean pine is used for the same purposesas the southern pines of the United States.

PINUS OOCARPA Ocote pine

AM

Ocote pine is a species of the higher elevationsand occurs from northwestern Mexico southwardthrough Guatemala into Nicaragua. The largest andmost extensive stands occur in northern Nicaraguaand Honduras.

The sapwood is a pale yellowish-brown andgenerally up to 3 inches in thickness. The heart-wood is a light reddish-brown. Grain is straight.Luster is medium. The wood has a resinous odor,and weighs about 41 pounds per cubic foot.

Ocote pine is classed among the woods easy toseason and is comparable in this respect withshortleaf pine (Pinus echinata). It air seasons ata fast to moderate rate with a minimum of sea-soning defects.

The strength properties of ocote pine are com-parable in most respects with those of longleafpine (Pinus palustris).

Decay resistance studies show ocote pine heart-wood to be very durable with respect to attackby a white rot fungus and moderately durable with

respect to brown rot.Ocote pine is comparable to the southern pines

in workability and machining characteristics.Ocote pine is a general construction timber and

is suited for the same uses as the southern pines. AM

POMETIA spp.Kasai, malugai

AS

Four species comprise the genus Pometia inSoutheast Asia. Their range is from the Philip-pine Islands, through Indonesia, and Malaysia toCeylon and includes many of the Pacific Islands.The most widespread and perhaps most impor-tant species are P. pinnata and P. tomentosa,The common name kasai is applied to the variousspecies occurring in Malaysia and the namemalugai is applied to the Philippine species.

The sapwood is 2 to 3 inches in thickness andmore or less clearly differentiated from the lightred-brown to dark red-brown heartwood. Grainis straight to widely interlocked and inclined tobe wavy. Luster is low, and medium-sized tomoderately large vessels appear as coarsescratches on longitudinal surfaces and constitutea characteristic feature of these surfaces. Theappearance of the wood from quartered surfacesreminds one of the lauan species. The wood weighsabout 40 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood is reported to season well, but flat-sawn lumber is likely to twist excessively, par-ticularly if wide interlocking grain is present.No kiln schedules are reported for this species.

Strength tests reported for two species ofPometia indicate similarity to results for nativeUnited States oak species,

The heartwood is rated as moderately durablewhen exposed to the weather or in contact withthe ground. Tie service tests conducted on kasaiin Malaya have given excellent results. The tieswere treated by a full-cell process arid averageabsorptions of 4.1 pounds per cubic foot wereobtained using a mixture of 50 percent creosoteand 50 percent diesel fuel. After 13 years, only21 percent of the ties were rejected, The wood isdescribed as fairly easy to work and in thisrespect should be quite similar to red lauan andbagtikan.

The woods of this genus are unknown in theUnited States trade, but if available in commercialquantity could be used for the same purposes asthe red lauans from the Philippines. On infrequent

occasions some of the lumber has entered theUnited States in mixture with red lauan.

PRIORIA COPAIFERACativo

Cativo ranges from Nicaragua to Colombia andthe timber stands of greatest volume occur inPanama and Colombia. This is one of few tropicalAmerican species that may be said to form “pure”stands. The genus consists of a single species.

The wood is generally quite uniform in colorand varies from a gray to pinkish or distinctlyreddish. The “heartwood” generally consists of asmall core of black wood which is appreciablyharder than normal wood and may possibly be oftraumatic origin. This central core may be sur-rounded by a zone of irregularly pigmented blackor brown lines, and sometimes only the pig-mented lines are present. The grain is straightand the texture is uniform and comparable tothat of mahogany. The luster is low, and the woodis without distinctive odor or taste. The woodaverages about 28 pounds per cubic foot.

The normal or light-colored wood of cativo canbe dried easily and rapidly with little or nodegrade. Lumber containing pigmented zonesrequires careful seasoning to prevent collapse andhoneycombing within these areas. It is essentialthat high temperatures be used in the final stagesof kiln drying because the gum content of thelumber is materially reduced and what remainsis not so prone to “bleed” onto the surfaces ofthe wood. Cativo has very good dimensionalstability.

Cativo is classed as a nondurable wood withrespect to both decay and insect attack. Logsare attacked quickly unless converted in a veryshort time or protected by preservatives.

Normal cativo lumber machines easily in alloperations. Wood that is above average indensityis likely to contain appreciable quantities oftension wood, which makes ripping difficult be-cause of the pinching effect on saws and theresulting burning of the teeth.

Cativo and yellow-poplar have about the sameaverage weight, but yellow-poplar is strongerin practically all properties; cativo exceedsyellow-poplar only with respect to hardness.

In Colombia, cativo is used for general utilitypurposes in both the solid form and in plywood,In the United States, it is used for furniture and

39

cabinet parts (concealed), as plywood and lumbercore, and other similar uses. The most importantutilization in the United States is in the form ofresin-stabilized veneer used in particular by theautomotive industry as a pattern material be-cause of its exceptional dimensional stability.

PTEROCARPUS ANGOLENSISMuninga

AF

Muninga has a rather extensive range fromAngola and the Congo, through much of EastAfrica and the northern parts of the Union ofSouth Africa. It is a tree of the drier open wood-lands.

The heartwood varies through shades of brownfrom light lo dark, frequently with a reddish orpurplish cast; darker streaks are often present.Upon exposure the wood lends to assume a uni-form golden brown color, but retains the streaksof darker color. The sapwood is very lightcolored and sharply demarcated from the heart-wood. The texture is coarse and even. Grain isinterlocked or irregular. The wood averages about41 pounds per cubic foot in weight. Muninga isgenerally lighter in weight than the related speciesof the Orient.

The wood is reported to season readily butrather slowly, and there is little tendency towardsplitting and distortion. The movement of sea-soned wood is classified as small.

The wood works readily, although irregulargrain may produce some difficulties in planing.The wood finishes well and can be readily glued.

The heartwood is rated as very durable and asresistant to preservative treatment.

Muninga is utilized lo a limited extent in theUnited States in the form of veneer for decorative

PTEROCARPUS INDICUSNarra

purposes.

FPL 125

One of the classic furniture woods of the Orient.particularly the Philippines. The wood is highlyregarded because it combines high decorativevalues, dimensional stability, and resistance lodecay and insects, with ease of seasoning, machin-ing, and finishing.

As

40

Narra varies appreciably with respect to colorand weight and these variations are presumed to

be correlated with conditions of growth. Twoforms are generally recognized: yellow narrawhich is golden-brown to brown, and red narrawhich is red-brown to distinctly red. Yellownarra apparently comes from trees of moderatelo rapid growth and is lower in density than rednarra which is associated with slow growth anddarker color. The fresh wood or newly exposedsurfaces are distinctly aromatic.

The grain is interlocked and produces a stripefigure on quartered surfaces. Because the woodis ring-porous, a growth ring pattern is producedon flatsawn surfaces and the latewood portion mayalso show a fine feathering pattern produced bythe bands of parenchyma tissue.

The trees are nowhere abundant. Because of itslong established reputation, the wood is much indemand locally for high-grade furniture, decora-tive case goods, and novelly items. Veneer gradelogs are used for both rotary and sliced veneer.Quartered veneer is generally available, but it isin the costly price range.

PTEROCARPUS SOYAUXIIAfrican padauk

AF

African padauk occurs in Nigeria, Cameroon,French Equatorial Africa, and the Congo.

The heartwood of this species is striking be-cause of its deep red color. The sapwood is agrayish-white, up lo 8 inches thick, and verysharply defined. The texture is coarse and some-what uneven; the pore lines generally are quiteconspicuous. The grain may be straight, but morecommonly it is interlocking, which produces anarrow stripe pattern on quartered surfaces. Thewood averages about 44 pounds per cubic fool inweight.

The lumber is reported to machine remarkablywell, and it finishes and glues easily. The woodhas a low total shrinkage and apparently exhibitslittle movement in service.

In the United States it is utilized only as veneerfor decorative purposes.

PYCNANTHUS ANGOLENSISIlomba

AF

Ilomba is a tree of the rain forest and rangesfrom French Guinea and Sierra Leone throughwest tropical Africa lo Uganda and Angola. This

species also referred lo in the literature underthe synonymous name Pycnanthus kombo.

The wood is a grayish-while lo pinkish-brownand in some trees may be a uniform light brown.There is generally no distinction between heart-wood and sapwood. The texture is moderatelycoarse and even. Luster is low. Grain is gen-erally straight. The wood weighs about 32 poundsper cubic fool. This species is generally similarlo banak (Virola), but is somewhat coarser tex-tured.

The wood is rated as perishable, but permeablelo preservative treatment. The general charac-teristics of ilomba would suggest similarity tobanak in working properties, seasoning, finishing,and utilization.

This species has been utilized in the UnitedStates only in the form of plywood for generalutility purposes.

QUERCUS spp.Encino, roble, oak

AM

The oaks are abundantly represented in Mexicoand Central America with about 150 species,which are nearly equally divided between red andwhile oak groups. Mexico is represented with over100 species and Guatemala with about 25; thenumbers diminish southward to Colombia, whichhas two species. To the northern visitor the oaksof tropical America are hardly recognizable bytheir leaves, although they would certainly berecognized whenever acorns are available. Theusual Spanish name applied is encino or robleand no distinction is made in the use of thesenames, nor are the different species givendistinctive names.

The wood of the various species is in mostcases heavier than the species of the United Slatesand is diffuse-porous like the live oak of theSouth, rather than ring-porous like the com-mercial red and while oaks. The chemical testused for differentiating between the commercialred and while oaks serves equally well for thetropical species.

Strength data are available for only four speciesand the values obtained fall between those of whiteoak and the southern live oak or are equal tothose of the latter. The average specific gravityfor these species is 0.72 based on volume whengreen and weight ovendry, with an observedmaximum average for one species from Guatemala

41

of 0.86.The tropical oaks are difficult lo machine, due

mainly lo their high density. They can be finishedsmoothly on tangential surfaces, but have a tend-ency toward “tear-out” on quartered faces.

The wood is very difficult to season withoutdegrade, and in air seasoning the lumber is veryprone lo severe checking and collapse. Shrinkageis high and the ratio of radial to tangentialshrinkage is also high.

Utilization of the tropical oaks is very limitedal present due to difficulties encountered in thedrying of the wood The major volume is used inthe form of charcoal. It is reported that Quercuscostaricensis and Q. eugeniaefolia from CostaRica are being manufactured into staves whichare exported to Spain where they are manufacturedinto wine barrels.

SHOREA spp.Lauans, “Philippine mahogany”

AS

The term “Philippine mahogany” is appliedcommercially in the United States to Philippinewoods belonging to three genera--Shorea, Para-shorea, and Pentacme. The group is further sub-divided into types based on heartwood color asfollows:

Dark red:

red lauan (Shoreanegrosensis)

tanguile (Shoreapolysperma )

Tianong (Shoreaagsaboensis)

l ight red:

Almon (Shorea almon)

Bagtikan (Parashoreap l ica ta )

Mayapis (Shoreasquamata)

White Iauan (Pentacmecontorta & P.mindanensis )

Dark reddish-brownto brick red

Red to reddish-brown

Light red to lightreddish-brown

Light red topinkish

Grayish-brown

Light red toreddish-brown

Grayish to verylight red

The species within each group may be shippedinterchangeably when purchased in the form oflumber or veneer. Mayapis of the light red groupis quite variable with respect to color and fre-quently shows exudation of resin. For this reason,some purchasers specify that mayapis be ex-cluded from their shipments. Resin ducts arecommon to all of the Shorea woods and occur intangential bands. Normally they are quite largeand may be very conspicuous, particularly in thewood of the dark colored group where the whitedeposits of the canals are prominently definedThese have been mistaken for zones of decay andother anomalies.

The lauans, as a whole, are coarser texturedthan mahogany (Swietenia ) of the American tropicsor the African khaya (Khaya). All species oflauan show varying degrees of interlocked grain.

The strength properties of the dark red groupare generally on a par with those of Americanmahogany.

Studies conducted at the Forest Products Labo-ratory showed that the average decay resistancewas greater for American mahogany than foreither the African khaya or the Philippine lauans.Among the Philippine species, the woods clas-sified as dark red were usually more resistantthan those of the light red group.

In machining trials at the Forest ProductsLaboratory, the lauans as a whole appeared tobe about equal to the better hardwoods found inthe United States. Tanguile was consistently betterthan average in all or most of the tests conductedMayapis, almon, and white lauan were consistentlybelow average, with red lauan and bagtikan beingrated as intermediate.

Kiln drying can be accomplished without par-ticular difficulty. The shrinkage and swellingcharacteristics of the lauans are comparable tothose found in the oak and maples of the UnitedStates.

Principal uses include interior trim, paneling,flush doors, plywood, cabinets, furniture, siding,and boat construction. The use of the woods ofthe dark red group for boat building in theUnited States exceeds in quantity that of anyother imported species.

SIMAROUBA AMARAAceituno, marupa

AM

The genus Simarouba consists of about six

species distributed from southern Florida, theWest Indies, and southern Mexico through centralAmerica to Bolivia and Peru. The most importantspecies is Simarouba amara, commonly known inCentral America as aceituno and in Brazil asmarupa.

The wood is yellowish-white or a uniform lightyellow with no distinction between sapwood andheartwood. Texture is medium and uniform. Grainis usually straight: luster is high The wood iswithout odor, but has a mild to decidedly bittertaste. The wood weighs about 27 pounds per cubicfoot.

The wood dries easily and rapidly with littledegrade. Dimensional stability is very good. Nokiln drying schedules are reported in the literature,but presumably the lumber could be dried usingthe same procedure as for mahogany.

Although Simarouba is classified as a hardwood,its average density and strength properties areon a par with those of ponderosa pine.

The heartwood is not durable in contact withthe ground. being attacked readily by decay fungiand termites. The wood can be readily treatedwith preservatives.

Simarouba is easily worked with both hand andmachine tools. The wood takes all types of finishesreadily and is easy to glue.

Locally the wood is used primarily for interiorapplications of general utility. Its properties Sug-gest more extensive utilization in the form ofcore stock, patterns, and moldings. Simaroubahas been used in the United States to a limitedextent for piano keys because of its grain char-acteristics and good dimensional stability.

STERCULIA OBLONGAOkoko, yellow sterculia

AF

Yellow sterculia ranges from Ivory Coastthrough West Africa into Cameroon and Gabon.

The heartwood ranges from a creamy yellowto a light yellowish-brown. The sapwood, whichmay be up to 8 inches thick, is not clearly dif-ferentiated from the heartwood. Texture is rathercoarse. Grain is broadly interlocked The highwood rays produce an attractive and very lus-trous pattern on true radial surfaces. The bandedparenchyma produces a “partridge” pattern onflatsawn surfaces, but is not distinctive becauseof the lack of contrast. The wood weighs about49 pounds per cubic foot.

FPL 125 42

The wood is reported to season slowly andwith a marked tendency toward surface checking.End splitting may be troublesome and cuppingmay be a serious defect in thin flatsawn lumber.The in-service movement of seasoned wood isclassified as medium.

sional stability is excellent.

Yellow sterculia averages heavier than whiteoak and its strength properties are proportionatelyhigher.

Mahogany is very easy to work and producesvery good results in all operations. Because ofits excellence, it is generally used as a standardfor the rating of other tropical species. Tensionwood zones, when present, are likely to producefuzzy or torn grain surfaces in planing operations.

The heartwood is rated as nondurable, butextremely resistant to preservative treatment.

The strength properties of mahogany are gen-erally similar to those of paper birch and blackcherry.

The wood can be worked fairly readily providedsufficient attention is given in planing operations.The wood finishes well and can be glued satis-factorily,

This species has received some attention inthe United States veneer trade because its lightcolor permits ease of staining and finishing tomeet current requirements. Some of the wood issliced on the quarter to produce the unusualfigure combination resulting from the effect ofthe wood rays and interlocked grain.

In evaluations of decay resistance at the ForestProducts Laboratory, mahogany showed a higheraverage level of decay resistance than the otherspecies commonly called mahogany (non-Swietenia species). Most tests showed it to be inthe resistant or very resistant class. The WestIndian species and Peruvian wood was, in general,much better than the Central American wood inthis respect.

SWIETENIA MACROPHYLLAMahogany

AM

Mahogany is used wherever an attractive anddimensionally stable wood is required. Some ofthe more important applications are for homeand office furniture, architectural woodwork andpaneling, radio and television cabinets, modelsand foundry patterns, boats and ships, sculpture,turning and carving, and numerous other uses.

Three species are recognized, hut Swieteniamacrophylla provides the major volume of thetimber on the commercial market. It occurs fromsouthern Mexico, through Central America, Co-lombia, and Venezuela into the Amazon Basin tonorthern Bolivia and eastern Peru. Swieteniamahagoni occurs in the West Indies and southernFlorida; S. humilis is native to the Pacific sideof southern Mexico and extends southward toCosta Rica. The two latter species are generallyheavier woods and, because of the limited volumesavailable, are utilized almost entirely within theirareas of growth.

TABEBUIA ROSEAApamate, mayflower

A M

Apamate ranges from southern Mexico throughCentral America to Venezuela and Ecuador. Thename roble is frequently applied to this speciesbecause of some fancied resemblance of the woodto that of oak (Quercus); roble is the Spanishname for oak. Much of the information relativeto this species appears in the literature underthe name Tabebuia pentaphylla.

The freshly sawn heartwood is a yellowish-white to salmon pink, but after exposure to airand light it changes to a rich golden brown. Woodfrom Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru tends to be darkercolored and slightly heavier than that originatingin Central America, Luster is high. Texture ismedium and uniform. Grain is usually straight,but certain trees may produce a wide variety offigure such as fiddleback, blister, stripe, swirl,and mottle. The wood is without odor or taste. Itweighs about 32 pounds per cubic foot.

The sapwood is a yellowish-white when freshlycut and becomes a pale brown upon exposure.The heartwood varies through the browns, froma golden to dark brown. The heartwood and sap-wood are not always clearly differentiated Tex-ture is medium, and luster is medium. Grain isclosely and narrowly interlocked. The tangentialalinement of the pores associated with parenchymaproduces a rather distinctive “feather” patternon flatsawn surfaces. Heartwood is without dis-tinctive odor or taste. The wood weighs about38 pounds per cubic foot.

The lumber seasons easily and rapidly with Apamate may be air seasoned at a fast rateminimal degrade. Shrinkage is low, and dimen- with little or no checking and only slight warping.

43

In its air seasoning properties it compares withyellow-poplar. Total shrinkage for apamate isintermediate between mahogany and black walnutand in-service movement anticipated would beequal to that of yellow-poplar.

Apamate has excellent working properties inall machine operations. It finishes attractively innatural color and takes finishes with good results.

The mechanical properties of apamate arehigher than average for most species of compara-ble density. Apamate averages lighter in weightthan the average of the American white oaks, butis comparable with respect to bending and com-pression parallel to grain. The white oaks aresuperior with respect to side hardness and shear.

The heartwood of apamate is generally ratedas durable to very durable with respect to fungusattack; the darker colored and heavier wood isregarded as more resistant than the lighterforms.

Within its region of growth, apamate is usedextensively for furniture, interior trim, doors,flooring, boat building, ax handles, and generalconstruction. The wood veneers well and pro-duces an attractive paneling.

TABEBUIA spp. (Lapacho series)Lapacho, ipe

AM

The lapacho group or series of the genusTabebuia consists of about 20 species of treesand occurs in practically every Latin Americancountry except Chile. The common name adoptedthere is lapacho, which is derived from the yellow-green compound lapachol which occurs in theheartwood vessels of this group. Lapachol isusually visible on planed surfaces confined tothe vessel lines, or in some specimens maycover the entire surface during sawing. In thepresence of alkaline solutions the Iapachol turnsa bright red.

The sapwood is relatively thick, yellowish-gray or gray brown and sharply differentiatedfrom the heartwood. which is a light to darkolive brown. The texture is fine. Grain is closelyand narrowly interlocked Luster is medium. Thewood is very heavy and averages about 64 poundsPer cubic foot. Thoroughly air-dry specimens ofheartwood generally sink in water.

The wood is fairly easy to season and driesrapidly with minimal warping, and checking,despite its very high density, The total shrinkage

FPL 125

is remarkably low for a wood of this densityand the in-service movement is also rather low.

Lapacho is moderately difficult to machinebecause of its high density and hardness. Glassysmooth surfaces can be readily produced, Thelapachol in the wood, when especially abundant,can be a nuisance in sawing or turning and maycause a mild form of dermatitis in someindividuals.

Being a very heavy wood, lapacho is also verystrong in all properties and in the air dry condi-tion is comparable to greenheart.

Lapacho is highly resistant to decay and insects,including both subterranean and drywood termites.It is, however, susceptible to marine borer attack.The heartwood is impermeable, but the sapwoodcan be readily treated with preservatives.

Lapacho is used almost exclusively for heavyduty and durable construction. Because of itshardness (two to three times that of oak orapitong) and very good dimensional stability, itwould be particularly well suited for heavy dutyflooring in trucks and box cars.

TABBIETIA spp.Lumbayau, menkulang

AS

A genus of about four species in the Philippines,Indonesia, and Malay Peninsula. Two species thathave some degree of commercial value withintheir respective range are Tarrietia javanica,the lumbayau of the Philippines, and T.simplicifolia, the menkulang of Malaya. Thegenus provides good quality timber but is gen-erally not marketed under its own name, beingincluded with other “red-colored” timbers ofmedium weight: with meranti in Malaya and redlauan in the Philippines. Small quantities haveentered the United States in mixture with lauan.

The heartwood is of various shades of brown,red brown to quite red or dark red brown. Thelighter colored sapwood may be 2 to 5 incheswide, and is not always clearly differentiated.Grain is straight to shallowly and widely inter-locked. Texture is slightly coarse to moderatelycoarse and even. The wood is generally similarin appearance to the red lauan species, andweighs about 47 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood is reported to be easy to dry butrequires careful stacking to prevent warping.The shrinkage values are on a par with those ofthe red lauans. No kiln drying schedule is re-

44

ported in the literature, although the UnitedStates schedule T6-D2 suggested for the redlauans should be applicable to these species.

Both menkulang and lumbayau are said to beeasy to work and finish but, because of thepresence of silica, they have a decided dullingeffect on tool cutting edges. The silica contentvalues reported are generally under 0.50 percentof the dry weight of the wood.

Vertical intercellular canals of the traumatictype are not uncommon in the wood. They areusually larger than the pores and are made con-spicuous on all surfaces because of their dark-colored, gum-like deposits. These canals con-stitute a defect where appearance is of primeimportance.

Although harder on tools than red meranti andred lauan, the timbers should find utilization formuch the same purposes. The wood is easy toveneer and would find a ready outlet in the ply-wood trade.

TARRIETIA UTILISNiangon, whismore

AF

Tarrietia utilis is native to the rain forests ofWest Africa, ranging from Sierra Leone toCameroon and Gabon. It is not reported to occurin Nigeria.

The heartwood varies from a pale pinkish-brown to a red brown. The sapwood, which maybe up to 3 inches wide, is not always clearlydifferentiated from the heartwood. Texture ismoderately coarse. Luster is medium to low.Grain is interlocked, generally showing a widelyspaced stripe pattern on quartered surfaces. Thehigh wood rays are rather prominent on trueradial faces. The heartwood has a characteristicwaxy or oil feel, which is most pronounced in thedarker colored wood. The wood averages about39 pounds per cubic foot.

Niangon is reported to season fairly rapidlyand well. The movement of seasoned lumber inservice is classified as medium.

Niangon has a slightly lower average densitythan white oak and its strength properties aregenerally lower, except in compression parallelto grain and side hardness where they are similar.

The heartwood is rated as moderately durableand extremely resistant to preservative treat-ment.

The wood works fairly well in all machining

operations, but interlocked or irregular grainmay produce some degree of difficulty on quar-tered surfaces. Wood which is particularly waxyor oily is likely to give trouble in finishing andgluing.

Niangon is used in Europe as a general con-struction timber and has found some applicationin the ship-building industry.

TECTONA GRANDISTeak

AS

Teak is native to India, Burma, Thailand, Indo-China, and Indonesia, particularly in Java, Planta-tions have been developed within its natural rangeas well as in many tropical areas of Latin Americaand Africa.

The heartwood varies from a yellow brown toa rich brown and frequently may show streaks ofdark color. These pigmented zones eventuallyfade with age. The wood has a coarse texture,is usually straight-grained, and has a distinctlyoily feel. The wood has a mild but somewhatunpleasant odor, which may be accentuated whenwetted or heated.

Teak seasons well but rather slowly. It requiresmore than ordinary care in determining both theinitial and final moisture contents, as variationsin the drying rates of some boards are occasional-ly great. The wood is very liable to color change,but the color becomes uniform within a reasonabletime after kiln drying. Total shrinkage is excep-tionally small in teak

Although generally not used in the United Stateswhere strength is of prime importance, thevalues for-teak are generally on a par with thoseof our native oaks.

Teak is rated as very durable with respect todecay and insect attack and extremely resistantto preservative treatment.

Teak is somewhat variable but generally workswith moderate ease with hand and machine tools.Its dulling effect on cutting edges is sometimesconsiderable, and in general may be consideredas appreciable, For extensive machining runs,the use of special wear-resistant Steel is nec-essary to ensure economical operation. Silicacontent is variable and values up to 1.4 percenthave been reported. The wood can be finished andglued satisfactorily, although some prefinishingtreatments may have to be considered to ensuregood bonding of finishes and glues.

45

Intrinsically, teak is one of the most valuableof all woods, but its use in the United States islimited by high cost. Teak is unique in that itdoes not cause rust or corrosion when in contactwith metal; hence, it is extremely useful in theshipbuilding industry. It is currently used in theconstruction of expensive boats, furniture, decor-ative objects, and as veneer for decorativeplywood.

TERMIINALIA IVORENSISEmeri, framire, idigbo

AF

Emeri ranges from French Guinea throughIvory Coast, Ghana, southern Nigeria into Cam-eroon.

The wood is yellowish or light yellowish-brownand generally shows no clear distinction betweenthe heartwood and sapwood. The texture is mediumto fairly coarse. Luster is medium. Grain isstraight to interlocked. The wood is unusuallyvariable in weight, and this is attributed in partto the prevalence of light-weight timber from thecenter of the tree. The recorded range is 23 to46 pounds per cubic foot, but for sound timberthe range is usually 30 to 39 pounds with anaverage of about 34 pounds.

The lumber seasons rapidly and with onlyminimal degrade. The in-service movement ofseasoned wood is classified as small.

The mechanical properties of normal emeri arevery similar to those of mahogany. The heartwoodis rated as durable and extremely resistant topreservative treatment.

The wood is easy to work with machine tools,finishes readily, and can be glued satisfactorily.

Emeri is utilized primarily for furniture,interior trim, and decorative paneling.

TERMINALIA SUPERBALimba, “Korina”

AF

Limba is a widely distributed species rangingfrom Sierra Leone to the Congo and Angola.

The wood is ordinarily a uniform grayish-whiteor light yellowish-brown. The sapwood is ordinar-ily indistinct or not clearly differentiated fromthe heartwood, but may be up to 6 inches thick.Some logs contain an irregular dark heart withgray-brown or nearly black markings that pro-duce an attractive appearance, As in emeri, the

wood shows considerable variability in weightand compression failures are common in thewood of lower densities. The average weight maybe taken as 34 pounds per cubic foot. The grainvaries from straight to shallowly interlocked orirregular. The texture is moderately coarse andeven.

The wood seasons rapidly and with only mini-mal degrade. Movement of seasoned wood isclassified as small.

The mechanical properties of limba are similarto those of emeri. Low-density wood should beavoided where bending strength is important,because of the prevalence of compression failuresin wood of this type.

The wood is rated as nondurable and as mod-erately resistant to preservative treatment.

Limba works readily with both hand and machinetools, finishes easily and can be glued verysatisfactorily.

Limba is suitable for many types of interioruse, and in the United States it is used primarilyin the form of decorative plywood. Selected limbaplywood is sold in the United States under thecopyrighted name korina.

TETRABERLINIA TUBMANIANAGola

AF

Gola is known presently only from Liberia.The names “African pine” and “Liberian pine”have been applied to this species, but because itis a hardwood and not a pine, these names aremost inappropriate and very misleading. The namegola, which was proposed by the College of For-estry at Monrovia, Liberia, is adopted here.

The heartwood is light reddish-brown and isdistinct from the lighter colored sapwood, whichmay be up to 2 inches thick. The wood is mod-erately coarse textured. Luster is medium.Grain is interlocked, showing a narrow stripepattern on quartered surfaces. The wood weighsabout 39 pounds per cubic foot.

Tests made at the Forest Products Laboratoryindicate no potential difficulties in the machiningof gola. It also peels and slices very well.

Gola is a very recent newcomer to the timbermarket and its potential has yet to be developed.Its workability and relatively light color shouldpermit utilization in both the solid and veneerform for both utility and decorative purposes.

FPL 125 46

TIEGHEMELLA HECKELIIMakore

AF

This monotypic genus is distributed in WestAfrica from Sierra Leone to Southern Nigeria.References to this species may also be found inthe literature under the synonymous namesMimusops heckelii and Dumoria heckelii.

The heartwood color varies from a pinkish-or purplish-brown to dark blood-red. The ratherdrab appearing sapwood may be 2 to 3 inchesthick. Texture is fine and uniform; luster ismedium. Grain is usually straight, but individualtrees may have interlocked or irregular grainwhich produces a broken stripe pattern on quar-tered surfaces. A silica content of 0.24 percenthas been reported for this species. The woodweighs about 39 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood seasons at a moderate rate withlittle degrade. The movement of seasoned woodis classified as small.

The strength properties of makore are aboutintermediate between those of American mahoganyand white oak.

Makore machines rather easily, although blunt-ing of saw teeth is particularly noted in the sawingof seasoned lumber. The fine machining dust isreported to be irritating to some individuals.

The heartwood is rated as very durable andextremely resistant to preservative treatment.

Makore has been used in the United States toa limited extent, generally in the form of figuredveneer. The wood may be too dark for decorativeuse in this country, at least at this time.

TRIPLOCHITON SCLEROXYLONObeche, wawa, samba

AF

Obeche is distributed through the Ivory Coast,Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. This species isunusual in that its occurrence is rather localizedwithin the range but markedly gregarious.

The wood is nearly white to pale straw coloredwith no distinction between sapwood and heart-wood. The texture is moderately coarse and even.The grain is typically interlocked. The woodweighs about 24 pounds per cubic foot.

The lumber seasons very rapidly and very wellwith only minimal degrade. The in-service move-ment of the seasoned wood is classified as small.

Obeche and American basswood have about thesame specific gravity, but American basswood issomewhat stronger in bending and compressionparallel to grain. In side hardness and shear thetwo species are similar.

The wood IS rated as nondurable and resistantto preservative treatment. Obeche works readilyin all machining operations, but because of thelow density of this wood, sharp knives are essen-tial for the production of smooth surfaces. Thewood finishes well and glues readily,

In the United States, obeche is used primarilyas veneer core.

TURRAEANTHUS AFRICANUSAvodire

AF

Avodire has a rather extensive range fromSierra Leone eastward to Cameroon and south-ward to the Congo and Angola. The Ivory Coastis reported to be the principal source of exportlogs.

The wood is a cream-white color that darkensto a golden yellow. There is no distinction be-tween heartwood and sapwood. Texture is uniformand similar to that of primavera. Grain may bestraight, interlocked, wavy, or with other irregu-larities that produce a variety of highly attractivefigures. Such figured material compares favor-ably with that of Chloroxylon (satinwood), althoughavodire is not so finely textured. Luster is satiny.The wood is without odor or taste. The averageweight is about 34 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood seasons fairly rapidly, but has atendency to undergo a certain amount of degradefrom warping. The in-service movement of sea-soned wood is classified as small.

The wood is rated as nondurable and extremelyresistant to preservative treatment. Avodire isrelatively easy to work with machine tools,although the usual difficulties maybe encounteredin planing lumber with irregular grain. The woodfinishes readily and is very easy to glue.

Avodire is somewhat heavier than Americanmahogany and its strength properties are slightlyhigher.

Avodire is a well-known decorative veneer andhas been utilized for this purpose for manydecades.

47

VIROLA spp. AMBanak

The genus Virola consists of about 40 speciesdistributed from British Honduras and Guatemalasouthward through Central America to Ecuador,northern South America, and the Amazon Basinto northern Bolivia and eastern Peru. The speciescontributing the greatest volume to the lumbertrade are Virola koschnyi of Central Americaand V. sebifera and V. surinamensis of northernSouth America, principally in the Amazon Basin.

The wood is usually a pinkish-brown or grayish-brown and is not differentiated into distinct zonesof heartwood and sapwood. Because of the abun-dance of starch throughout the cross section, itmust be regarded as a “sapwood” species. Thetexture is medium to coarse and uniform; grainis straight, and luster is medium The woodweighs about 33 pounds per cubic foot.

Banak is reported to be difficult to kiln drybecause it is prone to all seasoning defects.However, it is also stated that it can be kilndried satisfactorily to a moisture content of15 percent in 3 to 4 days. During the initialstages of drying from the green condition shrink-age is appreciable and a ratio of radial totangential shrinkage of 3 to 1 may prevail. Forin-service conditions the ratio is about 1 to 1.5,which is on a par with that of yellow-poplar,

Banak machines well in all operations, butfuzzing and grain tearing are to be expected whenzones of tension wood are present. The woodfinishes readily and is easily glued.. It is ratedas a first class veneer species.

It is rated as nondurable, being readily attackedby stain, decay, and insects unless precautionarymeasures are strictly adhered to from the timeof felling to completion of drying.

This species is also subject to bacterial attackwhich may result in the formation of odoriferouscompounds which may persist even in the finishedplywood. (See under Ceiba samauma).

Banak is in the density range of yellow-poplarand its strength properties are quite comparable.

Banak is well suited for the manufacture ofplywood, veneer, particleboard, and lumber.Large volumes are being utilized in the UnitedStates for many purposes with the major volumeof the lumber going into the molding industry.

FPL 125 48

VOCHYSIA spp.San Juan, yemeri

AM

The genus Vochysia consists of about 55species in Latin America with the majorityoccurring in northern South America and theAmazon Basin. Four species are native to Cen-tral America and the best known and perhapsmost important is Vochysia hondurensis. Thisdiscussion is limited to the Central Americanwood, but for the most part is applicable to theSouth American species of similar density.

The heartwood is grayish-white, up to 5 incheswide, and more or less differentiated from theheartwood, which varies from a light brown to apale reddish-brown. The texture is moderatelycoarse and uniform. Luster is medium Grain isinterlocked and shows a rather widely spacedstripe pattern in quartered surfaces. The woodweighs about 30 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood seasons fairly rapidly with littletendency to check or split, but with pronouncedtwisting or cupping when the lumber is flatsawn.The green lumber has a very high moisture con-tent, generally in excess of 200 percent. Collapsemay occur in the drying of thick stock andparticularly in the zones of tension wood. Theratio of radial to tangential shrinkage in theinitial stages of drying may be as high as 1 to6, and as a consequence drying must proceedcarefully and slowly. Quartersawing of the lumberor quarter slicing of the veneer would practicallyeliminate seasoning degrade and greatly improvethe utilization potential. Radial shrinkage ofyemeri is very low and the movement radially forin-service conditions would be about half of thatencountered in our native species such as hardmaple, white oak, and yellow-poplar.

Yemeri is in the density range of cottonwoodand eastern white pine and is comparable in moststrength properties. except in hardness where itsvalues are appreciably higher.

The heartwood can be rated at most as onlymoderately durable with respect to fungi and isnot resistant to insects and termites. Both sap-wood and heartwood are permeable and could bereadily treated with preservatives.

Machining tests made on San Juan lumber atthe Forest Products Laboratory rated the woodrather low in most operations. The majority of

the test specimens were rejected for excessivesurface roughness, which was attributed to tensionwood streaks. The normal wood works very easilyand with only minimal grain-tear on quarteredsurfaces. The wood finishes readily and poses nogluing problems.

Yemeri has been little utilized even locallybecause of its tendency to distort during season-ing. Effective utilization requires that the lumberbe quartersawn or veneer sliced on the quarterto obviate seasoning distortion and also to utilizeto the fullest extent the extremely low radialshrinkage. Expected in-service radial movementof the unfinished wood would be about 0.8 percent.It should be a very good wood for core stock andother uses.

durability, being rated as highly resistant to decayand insect attack, including termites.

Acapu has been used for all types of heavy dutyand durable construction, but because of itsrelative scarcity and high value it is utilizedprimarily for parquet flooring, interior trim,paneling, furniture, and cabinet work.

VOUACAPOUA AMERICANAAcapu

AM

Vouacapoua is a small genus of four species oftrees confined to the Guianas and northern Brazil.The most important and best known species isV. americana, which reaches its best develop-ment in the State of Para, Brazil.

The sapwood is cream colored and usuallynarrow. The heartwood is dark brown or reddish-brown and usually shows a distinctive pattern.the so-called “partridge” produced by the fine,pale brown parenchyma lines. Luster is mediumTexture is medium. Grain is straight or occasion-ally interlocked. The wood is very heavy, weighingabout 59 pounds per cubic foot.

The wood is rated as moderately difficult toair season and dries at a moderate rate withonly slight distortion or checking. Seasoningdegrade is said to be appreciably reduced byslower drying procedures. A kiln drying scheduleis not available. Total shrinkage of acapu is lowfor a wood in its density class and the valuesare lower than those of white oak. Acapu isreported to be a stable wood in service.

The wood has high strength properties, ingeneral much higher than required for its presentutilization

The wood is moderately difficult to work becauseof its high density. Acapu saws readily with noappreciable dulling effect and smooth surfacesare obtained in planing.

The heartwood has an excellent reputation for

49

T a b l e I . B r i t i s h a n d S u g g e s t e d U . S . K i l nSchedules for Imported Woods

Botanical nameB r i t i s h4 / 4 - 6 / 4

U n i t e d S t a t e s4 / 4 - 6 / 4 8 / 4

A l b i z i a l e b b e kA l b i z i a f e r r u g i n e aA l s t o n i a c o n g e n s i sAnacardium excelsumA n i s o p t e r a s p p .A n t i a r i s s p p .A r a u c a r i a a n g u s t i f o l i aAspidosperma spp.Aucoumea klaineanaBerlinia spp.B r a c h y s t e g i a s p p .C a l o p h y l l u m b r a s i I i e n s eCalycophyl lum spp.C a n a r i u m s c h w e i n f u r t h i iCarapa guianensisCa r i n i ana spp .Cadrela spp.Ceiba pentandraChIorophora e x c e I s aC h l o r o x y l o n s w i e t e n i aCord ia spp.C y b i s t a x d o n n e l I - s m i t h i i

D a l b e r g i a l a t i f o l i aDa lberg ia me lanoxy lonD a l b e r g i a n i g r aD a l b e r g i a r e t u s aD ia l yan the ra spp .D i o s p y r o s s p p . ( A s i a )D i o s p y r o s s p p . ( A f r i c a n )D i p t e r o c a r p u s s p p . ( a p i t o n g )Distemonanthus benthamianusDryoba lanops l anceo la taDye ra cos tu l a taEnd iand ra pa lmers ton i iEntandrophragma spp.Entero lobium cyclocarpumEucalyptus spp.GonystyIus bancanusGuarea spp.

E T6-D2 T3-DIF T6-D4 T3-D3H TI0-D4S T8-D3SE T6-D2 T3-DlE T6-D2 T3-DIA T2-D4 T2-D3D T3-D2 T3-DIE T6-D2 T3-DIE T6-D2 T3-DIE T6-D2 T3-DlE T6-D2 T3-DIA T2-D4 T2-D3B T2-C2 T2-CIH TI0-D4S T8-D3SC T3-C2 T3-CID T3-D2 T3-DIH TI0-D4S T8-D3SJ TI0-D5S T8-D4SE T6-D2 T3-DIC T3-C2 T3-CIE T6-D2 T3-DI

T6-F3( m o d i f i e d )

E T6-D2 T3-DIB T2-C2 T2-CIC T3-C2 T3-CIB T2-C2 T2-CI

T5-C3C T3-C2 T3-CIE T6-D2 T3-DID T3-D2 T3-DIF T6-D4 T3-D3H TI0-D4S T8-D3SH TI0-D4S T8-D3SE T6-D2 T3-DIA T2-D4 T2-D3F T6-D4C T3-C2 T3-CI

See tex tE T6-D2 T3-DI

FPL 125 50

T a b l e I . B r i t i s h a n d S u g g e s t e d U . S . K i l nSchedules for Imported Woods (Continued)

Botanical nameB r i t i s h Uni ted States4 / 4 - 6 / 4 4 / 4 - 6 / 4 8 / 4

Hu ra c rep i t ansHymenaea courbar i Il n t s i a b i j u g aKhaya i vo rens i sKoompassia malaccensisL o p h i r a a l a t aL o v o a t r i c h i I l o i d e sManson ia a l t i s s imaM i t r a g y n a c i l i a t aMora spp.N a u c l e a d i d e r r i c h i iNothofagus proceraOchroma pyramidaIeOco tea rod iae iOcotea rubraPa rasho rea p I i ca taParatecoma perobaPeItogyne spp.Pentacme contor taP e r i c o p s i s e l a t aPhoebe porosaPinus caribaeaPinus oocarpaP r i o r i a c o p a i f e r aP te roca rpus ango lens i sP te roca rpus soyaux i iPycnanthus angolensisQuercus spp.Sho rea spp . ( l auan )Sw ie ten ia mac rophy l l aTabebuia roseaTabebu ia spp . ( l apacho )T a r r i e t i a u t i I i sTa r r i e t i a (mengku lang )Tec tona g rand i sT e r m i n a l i a i v o r e n s i sTe rm ina l i a supe rbaT iegheme l l a hecke l i iT r i p l o c h i t o n s c l e r o x y l o nT u r r a e a n t h u s a f r i c a n u sVirola spp.Vochys ia spp.

ECCFEBEHKBEEHBEEDEEJEHHCJJCBEFEEEDHJJHLECA

T6-D2T3-C2T3-C2T6-D4T6-D2T2-C2T6-D2

TI0-D4STI3-C4S

T2-C2T6-D2T6-D2

TI0-D4ST2-C2T6-D2T6-D2T3-D2T6-D2T6-D2

TI0-D5ST6-D2

TI0-D4STI0-D4S

T3-C2TI0-D5STI0-D5S

T3-C2T2-C2T6-D2T6-D4T6-D2T6-D2T6-D2T3-D2

TI0-D4STI0-D5STI0-D5STI0-D4STl4-C6S

T6-D2T3-C2T2-D4

T3-DIT3-ClT3-CIT3-D3T3-DlT2-ClT3-DIT8-D3S

TII-C3ST2-ClT3-DIT3-DIT8-D3ST2-ClT3-DIT3-DIT3-DIT3-DIT3-DIT8-D4ST3-DlT8-D3ST8-D3ST3-ClT8-D4ST8-D4ST3-CIT2-ClT3-DlT3-D3T3-DIT3-DIT3-DIT3-DIT8-D3ST8-D4ST8-D4ST8-D3S

TI2-C5ST3-DIT3-CIT2-D3

51

Tab le 2 . To ta l Sh r i nkage i n Pe rcen t

NumberTrees Radial Tangen t i a l

A l b i z i a f a l c a t a r i aA l b i z i a l e b b e kA l b i z i a a d i a n t h i f o l i aA l b i z i a f e r r u g i n e aA l s t o n i a c o n g e n s i sAnacardium exceIsumAnisoptera spp.A n t i a r i s a f r i c a n aA r a u c a r i a a n g u s t i f o l i aAspidosperma spp.Astronium graveolensA s t r o n i u m f r a x i n i f o l i u mBerl in ia grandi f loraBros imum (a l icast rum) spp.B r o s i m u m ( u t i l e ) s p p .Bursera s imarubaCa lophy l l um b ras i l i enseCalycophyl lum candid iss imumCalycophylIum spruceanumCarapa guianensisCarapa nicaraguensisCarapa sur inamensisC a r i n i a n a b r a s i I i e n s i sCedrela spp.Ceiba pentandraCeiba samaumaChlorophora excelsaCh lo roxy lon sw ie ten iaC o r d i a a l l i o d o r aCord ia goe ld ianaCord ia t r i cho tomaC y b i s t a x d o n n e l l - s m i t h i iD a l b e r g i a l a t i f o l i aD a l b e r g i a n i g r aDa Ibe rg i a re tusaD ia l yan the ra spp .D i co ryn ia gu ianens i sD i o s p y r o s ( A s i a )Dipterocarpus spp.Distemonanthus benthamianusDracontomeIon daoDryobalanops spp.

FPL 125 52

55

228

I 72

I I6

7

43

I0I I244423

23I0

36

I02 l

3

8I0lll45

93l22

3 . 2 6 . 22 . 9 5 . 82 . 3 6 . 52 . 6 5 . 43.4 5 . I2 . 8 5 . 23 . 7 8 . 84 . 4 7 . 24 . 0 7 . 93 . 5 7 . 4

4.1 8 . 2

5 . 74 . 83 . 92 . 55 . 44 . 84 . 74 . 05 . I4 . 72 . 94 . I2 . 43 . 73 . 35 . 53 . 54 . 24 . 93 . I2 . 53.42 . 75 . 35 . 25 . 05 . 23 . I4 . l4 . 6

7 . 87 . I7 . 84 . 07 . 98 . 68 . 57 . 88 . l8 . 35 . 46 . 36 . 66 . 64 . l7 . I7 . I7 . 26 . 65 . 25 . 77 . 74 . 39 . 68 . 88 . 5

l 0 . 95 . 28 . 7

l 0 . 2

Table 2. To ta l Sh r i nkage i n Pe rcen t (Con t i nued )

NumberTrees Rad ia l Tangent ia l

Endiandra palmerstoni iEntandrophragma angolenseEntandrophragma cy l indr icumEntero lobium cyclocarpumEuca l yp tus d i ve r s i co l o rEucalyptus marginataEuxylophora paraensisFitzroya cupressoidesGonysty lus macrophyl lusGuarea cedrataGuarea thompsoniiG u i b o u r t i a e h i eG u i b o u r t i a t e s s m a n n i iHu ra c rep i t ansHymenaea courbariIl n t s i aJ u g l a n s n e o t r o p i c aKhaya spp.Koompassia excelsaL o p h i r a a l a t aL o v o a t r i c h i I i o i d e sManson ia a l t i s s imaM i t r a g y n a c i I i a t aMora exceIsaMora gongg r i j p i iMora megistospermaN a u c l e a d i d e r r i c h i iNothofagus proceraOchroma pyramidaleOco tea rod iae iOcotea rubraOxyst igma oxyphyl lumParasho rea p l i ca taParatecoma perobaPel togyne spp.Pentacme contor taP e r i c o p s i a e l a t aPhoebe porosaPinus caribaea

l322663I4I3II9

I 99I

I 0I62II43I2I5242

I438

I 9243

4 . 57 . 25 . 72 . 47 . 86 . 96 . 03 . 83 . 93 . 54 . 63 . 44 . 92 . 84 . 32 . 62 . 84 . I6 . 36 . 34 . 44 . 64 . 26 . 47 . I3 . 75 . 33 . 53 . 08 . 23 . 55 . I4 . 23 . 84 . 03 . 93 . 23 . 36 . 3

8 . 69 . 08 . 54 . 7

l 2 . 49 . 46 . 75 . 88 . 76 . 06 . 88 . 05 . 94 . 68 . l4 . 55 . 55 . 88 . 09 . 37 . 26 . 48 . 89 . 6

IO. I7 . 38 . 47 . 07 . 69 . 08 . 0

l 0 . 77 . 86 . 66 . 77 . 66 . 38 . 27 . 8

53

Table 2. To ta l Sh r i nkage i n Pe rcen t (Con t i nued )

NumberTrees Radial Tangentia I

Pinus oocarpaPomet ia p inna taP r i o r i a c o p a i f e r aP t e r o c a r p u s i n d i c u sP te roca rpus soyaux i iPycnanthus angolensisQuercus aaataQuercus copeyonsisQ u e r c u s c o s t a r i c e n s i sQue rcus eugen iae fo l i aQuercus oleoidesShorea almonShorea negrosensisShorea polyspermaShorea squamataSimarouba amaraSw ie ten ia mac rophy l l aTabebuia roseaTabebu ia ( l apacho ,T a r r i e t i a u t i I i sT a r r i e t i a j a v a n i c aTectona grandisT e r m i n a l i a i v o r e n s i sTe rm ina l i a supe rbaTe t rabe r l i n i a t ubman ianaT i e g h e m e l l a h e c k e l i iT r i p l o c h i t o n s c l e r o x y l o nT u r r a e a n t h u s a f r i c a n u sVirola spp.Vochys ia spp.Vouacapoua americana

4 . 65 . I2 . 32 . 53 . 63 . 96 . 69 . l5 . 06 . 85 . 83 . 23 . 84 . 53 . 52 . 43 . 73 . 55 . 72 . 94 . 22 . 23 . I4 . 45 . 65 . 33 . I3 . 74 . 63 . 44 . 9

7 . 58 . 95 . 34 . 35 . 37 . 8

l 7 . 7l 7 . 0l 4 . 6l 9 . 9I I . 77 . 67 . 68 . 58 . 25 . 45 . I6 . 07 . 85 . 99 . 54 . 04 . 95 . 4

l 0 . 27 . 85 . 36 . 58 . 89 . 26 . 9

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0G

ua

rea

th

om

pso

nii

AF

452

.56

11

,78

01

,64

8H

ura

cre

pit

an

sC

S7

65

.38

6,1

30

1,0

10

Hy

me

na

ea

c

ou

rba

ril

CS

959

.72

12

,95

01

,82

0In

tsia

b

iju

ga

AS

14

GR

.70

15

,00

02

,15

0In

tsia

pa

lem

ba

nic

aA

S5

GR

.68

12

,85

02

,02

0J

ug

lan

s r

eg

iaA

S10

GR

.47

8,7

10

1,3

10

Or

ig

in

No

.tr

ee

s

Mo

istu

rec

on

ten

tp

erc

en

t

Sta

tic

be

nd

ing

.C

om

pre

ssio

n

Mod

ulus

of

Sp

. g

r.1

rup

ture

Mo

du

lus

of

ela

sti

-c

ity

1,0

00

ps

i

pa

ra

lle

l to

gra

inW

ork

to

max

imum

loa

dIn

.-L

b./

cu

. in

.

ps

i

9.5

11

.21

2.7

21

.06

.91

1.6

14

.11

1.9

13

.21

2.0

--

--

13

.0-

--

--

-

12

.87

.41

0.5

10

.3-

--

--

-

10

.61

6.6

9.0

8.6

12

.11

2.8

6.8

15

.7-

-1

2.8

10

.4

Max

imum

cru

sh

ing

str

en

gth

ps

i

Ha

rdn

ess

sid

e

lbs

.

Max

imum

sh

ea

rin

gs

tre

ng

thp

si

4,0

00

79

01

,13

04

,94

01

,03

01

,08

04

,11

08

80

1,0

50

3,6

40

1,4

10

1,5

20

3,6

30

66

01

,05

04

,53

01

,27

01

,40

05

,44

01

,52

01

,63

05

,00

01

,38

01

,41

05

,51

02

,44

02

,36

05

,59

01

,10

01

,34

0-

-1

,74

01

,45

04

,62

01

,49

0-

-

4,1

70

1,2

80

1,4

70

4,4

10

80

01

,04

04

,61

08

60

1,1

70

4,3

00

75

01

,14

05

,97

19

80

1,0

38

3,5

33

77

09

42

5,0

11

1,0

20

1,2

50

5,3

18

1,0

80

1,3

82

--

35

0-

-5

,25

01

,36

01

,33

55

,19

01

,28

51

,32

56

,44

01

,61

01

,52

03

,99

09

60

1,3

80

5,3

95

64

09

94

3,3

79

62

09

77

4,9

34

87

01

,38

26

,01

09

50

1,3

46

2,6

50

43

08

10

5,8

00

2,0

30

1,7

70

8,0

40

1,7

00

1,8

30

6,7

70

1,3

90

1,5

60

4,0

10

67

01

,06

0

Sh

ea

rp

ara

lle

lto

g

rain

Sta

tic

be

nd

ing

Com

pres

sion

pa

rall

el

togr

ain

Kha

ya a

ntho

thec

aK

haya

ant

hoth

eca

Kha

ya

ivor

ensi

sK

hay

a g

ran

dif

oli

ola

Koo

mpa

ssia

m

alac

cens

isL

ov

oa

tric

hil

ioid

esM

anso

nia

alti

ssim

aM

itra

gyna

sp

.N

aucl

ea

did

erri

chii

Oco

tea

rodi

aei

Oco

tea

rubr

aP

aras

ho

rea

pli

cata

Par

ash

ore

a p

lica

taP

aras

ho

rea

pli

cata

Par

atec

oma

pero

baP

elto

gy

ne

con

fert

iflo

raP

elto

gy

ne

den

sifl

ora

Pel

togy

ne

pube

scen

sP

elto

gyne

ve

nosa

Pen

tacm

e co

ntor

taP

eric

op

sis

elat

aP

hoeb

e po

rosa

Pin

us

cari

bae

aP

inu

s e

llio

ttii

Pin

us

mon

tico

laP

inus

oo

carp

aP

inu

s p

alu

stri

sP

omet

ia

pinn

ata

Pom

etia

to

men

tosa

Pop

ulus

de

ltoi

des

Pri

ori

a co

pai

fera

Pte

roca

rpu

s an

go

len

sis

Pte

roca

rpu

s in

dic

us

Que

rcus

al

baQ

uerc

us

oleo

ides

Qu

ercu

s v

irg

inia

na

Tab

le 3

.S

tren

gth

pro

per

ties

of

cert

ain

im

po

rted

tro

pic

al w

oo

ds

and

sel

ecte

d s

pec

ies

of

the

U.S

. (R

esul

ts

base

d on

sm

all,

cl

ear

spec

imen

s in

th

e gr

een

cond

itio

n.)

Moi

stur

eB

otan

ical

nam

eO

rig

in

No

.co

nten

ttr

ee

s p

erc

en

t

AF4

AF

5A

F11

AF5

AS5

AF

2A

F1

AF1

AF4

GY5

SM5

AS5

AS5

AS22

BR3

BR1

BR1

GY1

SU3

AS19

AF6

BR3

CA19

US

30US

5HO

3US

44A

S5

AS7

US5

PA4

AF

3AS

15US

20GU

1US

5

61 54 64 54 GR 61 44 101 75 42 89 70 66 GR GR GR 64 42 71 GR 62 113 37 GR 54 41 63 GR GR 111

102 64 GR 68 38 50

sp

. g

r.1

.46

.47

.43

.57

.72

.48

.57

.48

.67

.83

.51

.43

.46

.49

.63

.77

.75

.92

.67

.43

.66

.52

.68

.56

.36

.55

.54

.57

.56

.37

.40

.59

.53

.60

.91

.81

Mod

ulus

of

rup

ture

psi 7,

315

8,26

57,

400

9,50

014

,530

7,79

012

,350

7,50

513

,015

19,4

007,

620

7,79

08,

360

9,10

013

,400

20,0

0016

,200

21,1

0013

,690

7,50

014

,820

7,70

09,

980

8,90

05,

200

7,97

08,

700

9,65

09,

020

5,30

05,

930

11,6

8510

,700

8,30

011

,490

11,9

00

Mod

ulus

of

ela

sti-

cit

y1,

000

psi 1,

156

1,19

81,

160

1,41

22,

410

1,13

41,

498

1,26

31,

840

2,98

01,

420

1,19

81,

412

1,55

0-- -- 2,61

04,

260

2,00

01,

380

1,76

61,

080

1,69

01,

580

1,17

01,

740

1,60

01,

620

1,70

01,

010

950

1,17

71,

470

1,25

01,

800

1,58

0

Wor

k to

max

imum

load

In.-

Lb

./cu

. in

.

8.5

9.8

8.3

9.7 -- -- 16.4

6.9

10.0

13.0

4.8

6.8 7.0

-- -- -- 17.0

16.4

14.8

-- 19.5

8.9

12.0

9.5 5.0

6.9

8.9 -- -- 7.3

5.4

12.4

-- 11.6

-- 12.3

Max

imum

cru

shin

gst

ren

gth

psi 3,

533

3,95

53,

500

4,99

27,

930

4,14

76,

144

3,80

27,

190

10,3

603,

630

4,11

84,

435

4,40

06,

300

8,90

09,

020

10,9

707,

020

3,70

07,

488

3,38

04,

780

4,34

02,

650

3,69

04,

300

4,56

04,

160

2,28

02,

590

5,65

45,

570

3,56

0-- 5,43

0

Har

dnes

ssi

de

lbs. 73

073

064

01,

170

1,48

069

01,

210

700

1,52

02,

190

500

580

660

730

1,43

02,

180

2,09

03,

290

1,81

058

01,

600

880

820

630

310

580

590

930

840

340

450

1,30

095

01,

060

2,01

01,

880

She

arp

ara

lle

lto

gra

in

Max

imum

shea

rin

gst

ren

gth

psi 1,05

61,

118

930

1,54

0-- -- 1,60

2-- 1,67

21,

480

840

810

906

1,05

01,

690

2,16

01,

640

1,83

01,

640

910

1,67

21,

170

1,20

01,

000

640

1,04

01,

040

1,17

01,

170

680

860

1,59

31,

220

1,25

0-- 2,21

0

Sta

tic

ben

din

gco

mpr

essi

onp

ara

lle

l to

gra

in

Sam

anea

sa

man

Sam

anea

sa

man

Sho

rea

alm

onS

hore

a da

syph

ylla

Sho

rea

lept

ocla

dus

Sho

rea

negr

osen

sis

Sh

ore

a p

arv

ifo

lia

Sh

ore

a p

auci

flo

raS

ho

rea

ph

ilip

pin

ensi

sS

ho

rea

po

lita

Sho

rea

poly

sper

ma

Sho

rea

smit

hian

aS

hore

a sq

uam

ata

Sho

rea

wal

toni

iS

imar

ouba

am

ara

Sim

arou

ba

glau

caSp

ondi

as

mom

bin

Spon

dias

m

ombi

nS

terc

uli

a o

blo

ng

aS

wie

teni

a m

acro

phyl

laT

abeb

uia

h

eter

otr

ich

aT

abeb

uia

rose

aT

abeb

uia

se

rrat

ifo

lia

Ta

rrie

tia

u

tili

aT

ecto

na

gran

dis

Tie

gh

emel

la h

eck

e1i

Til

ia a

mer

ican

aT

rip

loch

ito

n

scle

rox

ylo

nV

irol

a ko

schn

yiV

iro1

a m

elin

onii

Vir

o1a

suri

nam

ensi

sV

ochy

sia

hond

uren

sis

Voc

hysi

a ho

ndur

ensi

sV

ouac

apou

a am

eric

ana

Tab

le 3

.S

tren

gth

pro

per

ties

of

cert

ain

im

po

rted

tro

pic

al w

oo

ds

and

sel

ecte

d s

pec

ies

of

the

U.S

. (R

esul

ts

base

d on

sm

all,

cl

ear

spec

imen

s in

th

e gr

een

cond

itio

n.)

VE AS AS

AS AS

AS

AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS SU US GU VE AF CS PA CS SM AF IN AF US AF

CA SU BR CA GU SU

Moi

stur

eB

otan

ical

na

me

Ori

gin

No.

con

ten

ttr

ees

per

cen

t

3 6 12 2 5 15 5 5 6 4 19 5 14 4 2 4 1 3 5 77 3 10 3 713

4 4 8 2 8 3 2 5 1 3

GR GR GR 56 73 GR 84 69 GR GR GR 64 GR 70 69 81 85 131 60 67 41 62 31 47 67 44 105 76 75 50 94 200

148 48

sp.

gr.

1

.48

.49

.41

.43

.39

.44

.39

.50

.41

.47

.46

.40

.41

.36

.38

.33

.39

.40

.69

.45

.80

.51

.92

.56

.57

.54

.12

.33

.44

.42

.42

.35

.40

.79

Mod

ulus

of

rup

ture

psi

8,10

06,

600

7,50

08,

645

6,93

57,

700

6,65

09,

405

6,90

07,

980

8,10

06,

840

7,30

07,

125

6,31

03,

500

6,18

06,

400

11,1

159,

280

20,0

8010

,650

22,8

509,

690

10,9

8010

,355

5,00

05,

130

6,20

06,

340

5,60

05,

750

6,85

015

,850

Mod

ulus

of

ela

sti-

city

1,00

0p

si 910

660

1,44

01,

498

1,08

11,

380

1,03

81,

498

1,20

01,

330

1,54

01,

124

1,40

01,

252

1,14

070

01,

510

1,16

01,

605

1,28

02,

120

1,47

03,

060

1,30

51,

510

1,27

31,

040

706

1,47

01,

740

1,64

01,

050

1,26

02,

620

Wor

k to

max

imum

load

In.-

Lb

./cu

. in

.

10.4 -- -- 8.8 6.3 -- 6.2

0.5 -- -- -- 5.9

-- 6.8

4.5 1.8

-- 3.8

12.1

9.6

27.3

11.2

25.6

9.6

10.8

13.5 5.3

6.2 5.3

4.6

4.1

4.6 --

14.5

Max

imum

cru

shin

gst

ren

gth

psi 3,76

03,

270

3,75

04,

454

3,76

33,

700

3,32

24,

723

3,36

04,

010

3,94

03,

523

3,47

03,

677

2,97

01,

810

--2,

560

5,38

64,

510

7,68

04,

930

10,6

605,

088

5,47

05,

088

2,22

02,

573

3,05

03,

100

2,39

02,

800

--9,

170

Har

dnes

ssi

de

lbs. 75

099

050

056

045

057

044

070

053

071

062

044

048

046

039

024

046

053

088

070

02,

530

890

2,97

01,

050

1,07

093

025

042

044

040

032

046

057

01,

610

She

arp

ara

lle

lto

g

rain

Max

imum

shea

rin

gst

ren

gth

psi

1,10

01,

240

840

-- 748

930

713

1,10

992

01,

000

940

607

770

968

790

710

-- 770

924

1,31

02,

140

1,24

02,

050

1,27

61,

290

1,36

460

066

966

073

072

070

0--

1,51

0

1 Spe

cifi

c gr

avity

ba

sed

on

volu

me

whe

n gr

een

and

wei

ght

whe

n ov

endr

y.

Ta

ble

4

.S

tre

ng

th

pro

pe

rtie

s

of

ce

rta

in

imp

ort

ed

tr

op

ica

l w

oo

ds

a

nd

s

ele

cte

d

sp

ec

ies

o

f th

eU

.S.

(Re

su

lts

ba

se

d o

n s

ma

ll,

cle

ar

sp

ec

ime

ns

at

a m

ois

ture

co

nte

nt

of

12

or

as

ind

ica

ted

.)

Bo

tan

ica

l n

am

eO

rig

in

Ac

er

rub

rum

US

Ac

er

sac

ch

aru

mU

SA

fze

lia

s

p.

AF

Alb

izia

fa

lca

tari

aA

SA

lbiz

ia

falc

ata

ria

HA

Alb

izia

le

bb

ek

AS

Alb

izia

s

p.

AF

Aln

us

ru

bra

US

Als

ton

ia b

oo

ne

iA

FA

nac

ard

ium

ex

cels

um

CS

An

iso

pte

ra

sp

p.

(pa

los

ap

is)

AS

An

tia

ris

afr

ica

na

AF

Ara

uc

ari

a

an

gu

sti

foli

aB

RA

spid

osp

erm

a

(pe

rob

a

rosa

)B

RA

stro

niu

m

gra

ve

ole

ns

CS

Be

rlin

ia

gra

nd

iflo

raA

FB

etu

la

all

eg

ha

nie

ns

isU

SB

rac

hy

ste

gia

n

ige

ric

aA

FB

rac

hy

ste

gia

s

pic

ifo

rmis

AF

Bra

ch

ys

teg

ia s

p.

AF

Bro

sim

um

co

star

ican

um

CR

Bro

sim

um

VE

Bro

sim

um

uti

leE

CB

rosi

mu

m u

tile

EC

Bro

sim

um

u

tile

EC

Bu

rse

ra

sim

aru

ba

us

Bu

rse

ra

sim

aru

ba

CR

Ca

lop

hy

llu

m b

ras

ilie

ns

e r

ek

oi

CA

Ca

lyc

op

hy

llu

m c

an

did

issi

mu

mV

EC

aly

cop

hy

llu

m

spru

cean

um

PE

Ca

na

riu

m

sch

we

infu

rth

iiA

FC

ara

pa

g

uia

ne

nsi

sB

RC

ara

pa

n

ica

rag

ue

nsi

sE

CC

ara

pa

su

rin

am

en

sis

SU

Ca

rin

ian

a

bra

sil

ien

sis

BR

Car

inia

naB

RC

ary

a

illi

no

en

sis

US

Ce

dre

la

an

gu

sti

foli

aB

RC

ed

rela

o

ax

ac

en

sis

PA

Mo

istu

reN

o.

co

nte

nt

tre

es

p

erc

en

t

14

17

3+ 4 5 5

1+ 6 1 6

16

1+

11 1 4 5

17 5 8 7 1 1 1 1 3 5 11

8 2 1 4 2 3 2 3 1 5 2 3

12

12

12

12

12 8 12

12 12

12

12

12

15

12 12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

13 13 12 12 12 12

12

14

12 12

13 12

15

12 12

12 12

Sp

. g

r1

0.4

9.5

6.7

1.2

8.3

2.5

5.6

3.3

7.3

6.4

1.5

1.3

9.4

8.6

7.8

6.6

1.5

5.6

0.7

1.7

1.6

4.6

5.3

6.3

9.4

1.3

0.3

2.5

4.6

7.7

6.4

5.5

6.4

2.5

3.4

6.5

8.6

0.3

8.4

1

Sta

tic

bend

ing

Mod

ulus

of

rup

ture

ps

i

Mo

du

lus

of

el

as

ti

-c

it

y1

,00

0p

si

Wo

rk

tom

axim

umlo

ad

In.-

Lb

./c

u.

in.

13

,40

01

,64

01

2.5

15

,80

01

,83

01

6.5

17

,19

52

,03

32

4.1

6,9

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9,9

36

6,6

50

8,0

00

9,1

00

7,6

80

8,4

40

8,6

70

7,7

00

4,4

90

8,8

80

7,9

49

7,7

90

8,4

50

--

Har

dnes

ss

ide

lbs

.

86

09

30

1,3

70

83

0-

- 94

01

,29

07

80

2,4

60

2,9

50

1,1

50

1,6

30

69

02

,65

09

00

64

02

,63

05

90

71

08

80

--

1,6

00

2,1

40

3,6

40

1,8

60

700

1,5

60

95

01

,15

01

,01

09

10

87

01

,47

01

,24

06

10

1,4

10

1,4

80

1,0

20

1,0

60

2,3

90

Sh

ea

rp

ar

all

el

to g

ra

in

Max

imum

sh

ea

rin

gs

tre

ng

thp

si

1,5

93

1,7

78

2,2

09

1,5

00

--

1,2

76

1,9

71

--

2,5

50

2,6

40

--

2,1

82

1,5

00

2,8

30

1,2

90

96

01

,83

01

,07

41

,25

01

,37

0-

-

2,1

40

2,1

50

2,0

70

2,2

20

1,2

00

2,0

86

1,4

80

1,8

70

1,7

30

1,7

20

1,5

00

1,9

50

2,0

40

1,0

40

2,0

33

1,9

98

1,5

80

1,6

30

--

Com

pres

sion

pa

rall

el

tog

rain

Har

dnes

ssi

de

Bot

anic

al n

ame

Max

imum

shea

rin

gst

ren

gth

psi

Que

rcus

al

baQ

uer

cus

cost

aric

ensi

sQ

uerc

us

euge

niae

foli

aQ

uer

cus

vir

gin

ian

aQ

uerc

us

spp.

(r

ed)

Que

rcus

sp

p.

(whi

te)

Sho

rea

alm

on (

lava

n)S

hore

a da

syph

ylla

(m

eran

ti)

Sh

ore

a le

pto

clad

us

(ser

aya)

Sho

rea

negr

osen

sis

(lav

an)

Sh

ore

a p

arv

ifo

lia

(ser

aya)

Sh

ore

a p

auci

flo

ra (

sera

ya)

Sho

rea

poly

aper

ma

(lav

an)

Sho

rea

smit

hian

a (s

eray

a)S

hore

a sq

uam

ata

(lav

an)

Sh

ore

a w

alto

nii

(se

ray

a)S

imar

ouba

am

ara

Sim

arou

ba

amar

aSp

ondi

as

mom

bin

Tab

le 4

.S

tren

gth

prop

erti

es

of

cert

ain

impo

rted

tr

opic

al

woo

ds

and

sele

cted

sp

ecie

s,

of

the

U.S

. (R

esul

ts

base

d on

sm

all,

cl

ear

spec

imen

s at

a

moi

stur

e co

nten

t of

12

or

as

ind

icat

ed.)

Ste

rcu

lia

ob

lon

ga

Sw

iete

nia

mac

roph

ylla

Tab

ebui

a gu

ayac

anT

abeb

uia

h

eter

otr

ich

aT

abeb

uia

rose

aT

abeb

uia

se

rrat

ifo

lia

Ta

rrie

tia

uti

lis

Tec

tona

gr

adis

Tec

ton

a g

rad

isT

erm

inal

ia i

vo

ren

sis

Tet

rab

erli

nia

tu

bm

ania

na

Tie

ghem

ella

he

ckel

iiT

ilia

am

eric

ana

Tri

plo

chit

on

sc

lero

xy

lon

Tu

rrae

anth

us

afri

can

us

Vir

ola

kosc

hnyi

Vir

ola

mel

ino

nii

Vir

ola

su

rin

amen

sis

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s ho

ndur

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sV

ouac

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a am

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ana

Ori

gin

US CR CR US US US PH AS AS

AS AS AS PH AS AS

AS SU SU VE AF CS HO PA CA SM AF HO IN AF

AF AF

US AF AF CA SU BR CA SU

Moi

stur

eN

o.co

nte

nt

tree

s p

erce

nt

20 2 1 5 70 55 12 2 5 15 5 5 17 5 12 4 3 2 3 5 77 3 3 9 3 7 3 56 6+ 11 4 8 2 3 8 3 2 5 3

12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 15 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 14 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

Sp

. g

r1

.60

.61

.67

.81

.57

.59

.44

.43

.39

.44

.39

.50

.46

.40

.4l

.36

.37

.38

.40

.69

.45

.85

.80

.52

.92

.56

.56

.57

.48

.60

.54

.32

.33

.51

.44

.42

.42

.35

.79

Sta

tic

ben

din

g

Mod

ulus

of

rup

ture

psi

Mod

ulus

of

ela

sti-

cit

y1,

000

psi

Wor

k to

max

imum

load

In.-

Lb

./cu

. in

.

15,2

001,

780

14.8

17,5

602,

640

16.8

16,4

102,

840

14.1

18,4

001,

980

18.9

14,6

001,

830

14.3

13,7

001,

590

13.7

11,3

001,

670

--12

,065

1,62

611

.79,

310

1,29

58

.411

,300

1,63

0-

-9,

500

1,22

08

.512

,635

1,76

613

.812

,900

1,81

0--

10,2

601,

412

8.8

11,1

001,

660

--9,

785

1,35

910

.29,

020

1,29

05.

18,

930

1,24

05.

88,

810

1,28

06

.317

,005

2,11

915

.011

,640

1,51

07.

927

,150

2,97

022

.922

,630

2,32

026

.013

,780

1,60

012

.526

,310

3,31

023

.012

,350

1,47

79

.913

,310

1,39

010

.312

,780

1,59

010

.111

,495

1,44

57.

916

,750

2,21

0--

13,9

651,

573

10.7

8,70

01,

460

7.2

7,50

585

66.

912

,730

1,48

79

.410

,800

1,72

08

.110

,070

1,98

07.

810

,950

2,04

010

.07,

980

1,20

07

.121

,640

2,53

017

.0

max

imum

cru

shin

gst

ren

gth

psi

7,44

0-- --

8,90

07,

120

7,00

05,

750

6,97

05,

155

5,89

05,

923

7,36

36,

580

6,30

75,

620

5,50

1--

4,84

04,

410

9,36

06,

630

12,4

7010

,930

7,34

013

,420

7,20

06,

770

7,11

06,

653

9,01

07,

421

4,73

03,

926

7,15

25,

720

5,28

05,

140

4,42

011

,480

lbs.

1,36

01,

570

2,17

02,

680

1,31

01,

340

590

630

510

680

460

780

770

540

590

490

430

440

520

1,12

081

03,

480

3,01

096

03,

670

1,10

01,

110

1,03

084

0-- 1,11

041

043

01,

080

640

600

510

770

1,73

0

She

arp

ara

lle

lto

g

rain

2,00

0-- -- 2,66

01,

840

1,88

01,

090

-- 1,16

21,

220

968

1,46

11,

290

-- 1,09

01,

030

830

1,16

01,

030

1,59

31,

290

2,71

02,

280

1,45

02,

070

1,61

91,

600

1,48

01,

540

-- 1,83

099

098

62,

033

1,30

01,

220

980

1,07

01,

090

1 Spec

ific

gr

avity

ba

sed

on

volu

me

whe

n gr

een

and

wei

ght

whe

n ov

endr

y.

REFERENCES

Bolza, E., and Kloot, N. H.1963. The mechanical properties of 174 Aus-

tralian timbers. Division of ForestProducts Technical Paper No, 25,CSIRO, Melbourne.

, and Kloot, N. H.1966. The mechanical properties of 81 New

Guinea timbers. Division of ForestProducts Technical Paper No, 41,CSIRO, Melbourne.

British Forest Products Research Laboratory1956. A handbook of hardwoods. British De-

partment of Science and IndustrialResearch, H. M. Stationery Office,London.

Brotero, Frederico Abranches1956. Tabelas de resultadas obtidos para

madeiras nacionais. Instituto de Pes-quisas Tecnologicas, Sao Paulo, Bra-zil; Boletim No. 31.

Desch, H. E.1941. Dipterocarp timbers of the Malay Pen-

insula. Malayan Forest Records No.14.

1941. Manual of Malayan timbers. MalayanForest Records No. 15, Volumes 1and 2.

Dickinson, Fred E., Hess, Robert W., andWangaard, Frederick F.1949. Properties and uses of tropical woods,

I. Tropical Woods 95.Gerhards, C. C.

1966. Physical and mechanical properties ofMolucca albizia. U.S. Forest ServiceResearch Paper FPL 55, Forest Prod-ucts Laboratory, Madison, Wis.

Gottwald, H., Knigge, W., Noack, D., Willeitner,H., and Sachtler, M.1968. Anatomical and physical-technological

investigations on four Liberian woodspecies. German Forestry Mission toLiberia.

Great Britain Forest Products Research Labora-tory1959. Kiln drying schedules. F.P.R.L. Leaflet

No. 42. Her Majesty’s StationeryOffice, London.

Heck, G. E.1937. Average strength and related properties

of five foreign woods tested at theForest Products Laboratory, U.S.Forest Products Laboratory ReportNo. R1139.

Hess, Robert W., Wangaard, Frederick F., andDickinson, Fred E.1950. Properties and uses of tropical woods,

II. Tropical Woods 97. School of For-estry, Yale University.

Hoheisel, Hannes, and Arroyo, Joel1966. Resultados preliminares de las

propiedades fisicas y mecanicas de30 especies de la Guyana Venezolana.Instituto Forestal Latino-Americanode Investigacion y Capacitacion,Merida, Venezuela. Boletin No. 20-21,Abril-Agosto.

Instituto Forestal: Chile1967. Summary of the mechanical and physical

properties of timbers grown in Chile.Nota Tec. Instituto Forestal Chile No.8.

Instituto Interamerican de Ciencias Agricolas(IICA).1968. Report on a wood testing program car-

ried out for UNDP Project 192, Sur-vey and development of selected forestareas, Costa Rica. IICA, Turrialba,Costa Rica.

Kukachka, B. F.1959. Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King).

U.S. Forest Products Laboratory Re-port No. 2167.

, McClay, T. A., and Beltranena M.,Emilio.1968. Propiedades seleccionadas de 52

especies de madera del Departmentodel Peten, Guatemala. Proyecto deEvaluation Forestal. FAO - FYDEP,Boletin Numero 2, Abril.

Kynoch, William, and Norton, Newell A.1938. Mechanical properties of certain tropi-

cal woods, chiefly from South America.University of Michigan School of For-estry and Conservation Bulletin No. 7.

Lauricio, F. M., and Bellosillo, S. B.1966. Mechanical and related properties of

Philippine woods. Fifth Progress Re-port. The Lumberman (Philippines)Volume 12, No. 5, August-September,

Lavers, Gwendoline M.1967. The strength properties of timbers.

63

(Great Britain) Ministry of Technolo-gy, Forest Products Research BulletinNo. 50.

Limaye, V. D.1933. The physical and mechanical properties

of woods grown in India. Indian ForestRecords XVIII, Part X.

Vink, A. T.1965. Surinam timbers. A summary of avail-

able information with brief descrip-tions of the main timber species.(Third Edition) Surinam Forest Ser-vice, Paramaribo.

Markwardt, L. J., and Wilson, T.R.C.1935. Strength and related properties of woods

grown in the United States. U.S. Dep.Agr., Technical Bulletin No. 479.

Rasmussen, E. F.1961. Dry kiln operator’s manual. U.S. Dep.

Agr., Agr. Handbook 188.Sallenave, P.

1955. Proprietes physiques et mecaniquesdes bois tropicaus de L’Union Fran-caise, Centre Technique ForestierTropical, Nogent-Sur-Marne, France.

Sekhar, A. C., and Rawat, B. S.1966. Physical and mechanical properties of

teak from different localities in Indiaand neighboring areas. Indian ForestRecords (New Series) Timber Me-chanics Volume 1, No. 13.

U.S. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory1955. Wood handbook. U.S. Dep. Agr., Agr.

Handbook 72.Van der Slooten, Harry J., Corothie, Harry,

and Arroyo P., Joel1962. The anatomical, physical, and mecnani-

cal properties of five Brazilian woodspecies. Instituto Forestal Latino-American de Investigacion y Capacita-cion, Merida, Venezuela.

Wangaard, Frederick F., and Muschler, Arthur F.1952. Properties and uses of tropical woods,

III. Tropical Woods 98. School ofForestry, Yale University.

, Koehler, Arthur, and Muschler, ArthurF.1954. Properties and uses of tropical woods,

IV. Tropical Woods 99. School ofForestry, Yale University.

, Stern, William L., and Goodrich, Stan-ley L.1955. Properties and uses of tropical woods,

V. Tropical Woods 103. School of For-estry, Yale University.

Wellwood, R. W.1946. The physical-mechanical properties of

certain West Indian timbers. Carib-bean Forester 7(2): 151-189.

FPL 125 64

INDEX

OF COMMON NAMES OF SPECIES LISTED HEREINAND THEIR BOTANICAL EQUIVALENTS

Abura (Mitragyna ciIiata)

Acapu

Aceituno (Simarouba amara)

“African mahogany” (Khaya spp.)

Afrormosia (Pericopsis elata)

Agba

(Vouacapoua americana)

(GossweiIerodendron baIsamiferum)

Aiele (Canarium schweinfurthii)

Albarco (Cariniana spp.)

Albizia (Albizia spp.)

Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides)

Alstonia (Alstonia boonei & congensis)

Amaranth (Peltogyne spp.)

Andiroba (Carapa spp.)

Angelique (Dicorynia guianensis)

Apamate (Tabebuia rosea)

Apitong (Dipterocarpus spp.)

Avodire (Turraeanthus africanus)

Ayan (Distemonanthus benthamianus)

Azobe (Lophira alata)

Bacu (Cariniana spp.)

Bagtikan (Parashorea plicata)

Balsa (Ochroma pyramidale)

Banak (Virola spp.)

Basra locus (Dicorynia guianensis)

B a t a i (Albizia falcataria)

Benge (Guibourtia arnoldiana)

Berlinia (Berlinia spp.)

Bete (Mansonia altissima)

Bi l inga (Nauclea diderrichii)

Blackwood, African (Dalbergia melanoxylon)

Bosse (Guarea cedrata & thompsonii)

Bubinga (Guibourtia spp.)

Capirona (Calycophyllum spruceanum)

Capomo (Brosimum - Alicastrum group)

Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea)

Cativo (Prioria copaifera)

Cedro (Cedrela spp.)

Cedro macho (Carapa spp.)

Ceiba (Ceiba pentandra)

Chenchen (Antiaris africana & welwitschii)

Cocal (Brosimum spp.) utile group

Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa)

CourbariI (Hymenaea courbariI)Crabwood (Carapa spp.)

Cuangare (Dialyanthera spp.)

Dao (Dracontomelon spp.)

Degame (Calycophyllum candidissimum)

Determa (Ocotea rubra)

Ebony, African (Diospyros spp.)

Ebony, East Indian (Diospyros spp.)

Edinam (Entandrophragma angolense)

Ehie (Guibourtia ehie)

Ekki (Lophira alata)

Emeri (Terminalia ivorensis)

Encino (Quercus spp.)

Espave (Anacardium excelsum)

Framire (Terminalia ivorensis)

Freijo (Cordia spp.)

Fuma (Ceiba pentandra)

Gola (Tetraberlinia tubmaniana)

Goncalo alves (Astronium spp.)

Greenheart (Ocotea rodiaei)

Guanacaste (Enterolobium cyclocarpum)

Guapinol (Hymenaea courbariI)

Guarea (Guarea spp.)

Gumbo- Iimbo (Bursera simaruba)

Gurjun (Dipterocarpus spp.)

ldigbo (Terminalia ivorensis)

Ilomba (Pycanthus angolensis)

lmbuia (Phoebe porosa)

Ipe (Tabebuia --Lapacho group)l p i l (Intsia spp.)

Iroko (Chlorophora spp.)

JabiIlo (Hura crepitans)

65

)

J a c a r a n d a (Dalbergia nigra)

J a r r a h (Eucalyptus marginata)

J e l u t o n g (Dyera costulata)

J e q u i t i b a (Cariniana spp.)

K a m b a l a (Chlorophora spp.)

K a p u r (DryobaIanops spp.)

K a r r i (Eucalyptus diversicolor

K a s a i (Pometia spp.)

K e l a d a n (Dryobalanops spp.)

K e m p a s (Koompassia malaccensis

K e r u i n g (Dipterocarpus spp.)

K e v a z i n g o (Guibourtia spp.)

K h a y a (Khaya spp.)

K o k k o (Albizia lebbek)

K o k r o d u a (Pericopsis elata)

" K o r i n a " (Terminalia superba)

.)

K o s i p o (Entandrophragma candollei)

K r a b a k (Anisoptera spp.)

Lapacho (Tabebuia - Lapacho group)

L a u a n , D a r k r e d (Shorea spp.)

Lauan, L i g h t r e d

(Shorea, Parashorea, P e n t a c m e s p p .)

L a u r e l (C o r d i a s p p .)

L i g n u m v i t a e (Guaiacum sanctum)

L i m b a (Terminalia superba)

L o u r o v e r m e l h o (Ocotea rubra)

L o v o a (Lovoa trichilioides)

L u m b a y a u (Tarrietia spp.)

Lupuna (Ceiba samauma)

M a h o g a n y (Swietenia macrophylla)

M a k o r e (Tieghemella heckelii)

Malugai (Pometia spp.)

M a n s o n i a (Mansonia altissima)

M a r i a (Calophyllum brasiIiense)

M a r u p a (Simarouba amara)

M a y f l o w e r (Tabebuia rosea)

M e n k u l a n g (Tarrietia spp.)

M e r b a u (Intsia spp.)

M e r s a w a (Anisoptera spp.)

M o r a (Mora excelsa)

Morabukea (Mora gonggrijpii)

M o v i n g u i (Distemonanthus benthamianus)

F P L 1 2 5

M u n i n g a (Pterocarpus angolensis)

N a r r a (Pterocarpus indicus)

N a t o (Mora megistosperma)

N i a n g o n (Tarrietia utilis)

N o g a l (Juglans spp.)

O a k , t r o p i c a l (Quercus spp.)

O b e c h e (Triplochiton scleroxylon)

O c o t e p i n e (Pinus oocarpa)

Ojoche (Brosimum - AIicastrum group)

O k o k o (Sterculia oblonga)

O k o u m e (Aucoumea klaineana)

O k w e n (Brachystegia spp.)

Omu (Entandrophragma candollei)

O p e p e (Nauclea diderrichii)

O r i e n t a l w o o d (Endiandra palmerstonii)

Padauk, Af r ican (Pterocarpus soyauxii)

P a l o s a p i s (Anisoptera spp.)

" P a r a n a p i n e " (Araucaria angustifolia)

P a u a m a r e l l o (Euxylophora paraensis)

Pe roba de campos (Paratecoma peroba)

P e r o b a r o s a (Aspidosperma spp.)

P e t e r e b i (Cordia spp.)

"PhiIippine mahogany"

(Shorea, Parashorea, Pentacme)

P i n e , C a r i b b e a n (Pinus caribaea)

P i n e , o c o t e (Pinus oocarpa)

Possumwood (Hura crepitans)

P r i m a v e r a (Cybistax donnell-smithii)

P u r p l e h e a r t (Peltogyne spp.)

R a m i n (Gonystylus spp.)

Ramon (Brosimum - Alicastrum group)

R a u l i (Nothofagus procera)

R e d p e r o b a (Aspidosperma spp.)

R o b l e (Quercus spp.)

R o s e w o o d , B r a z i I i a n (Dalbergia nigra)

R o s e w o o d , I n d i a n (Dalbergia latifolia)

Samauma (Ceiba samauma)

S a m b a (Triplochiton scleroxylon)

S a n J u a n (Vochysia spp.)

Sande (Brosimum - Utile group)

S a n t a M a r i a (Calophyllum brasiliense)

S a p e l e (Entandrophragma cylindricum)

66

S a t i n w o o d , E a s t I n d i a n (Chloroxylon swietenia)

S e r a y a , w h i t e (Parashorea plicata)

S i p o (Entandrophragma utile)

S i r i s (Albizia lebbek)

S p a n i s h - c e d a r (Cedrela spp.)

T c h i t o l a (Oxystigma oxyphyllum)

T e a k (Tectona grandis)

T l a m a (Entandrophragma angolense)

Tigerwood (Lovoa trichiIioides)

T o i a (Gossweilerodendron balsamiferum)

U t i l e (Entandrophragma utile)

" V i r o l a " (Dialyanthera spp.)

W a l n u t , T r o p i c a l (Juqlans spp.)

W a n a (Ocotea rubra)

W a w a (Triplochiton scleroxylon)

W h i s m o r e (Tarrietia utilis)

Y a n g (Dipterocarpus spp.)

y e l l o w s t e r c u l i a (Sterculia oblonga)

Y e m e r i (Vochysia spp.)

67