Category :    Heavy Hardwoods

Species

Intsia bijuga (merbau ipil), I. palembanica (merbau)

General Characteristics

Sapwood sharply differentiated from heartwood; colour of heartwood orange-brown or brown or dark red-brown weath¬ering to darker shades; planed surface with¬out lustre except the lighter coloured woods which are moderately lustrous; with stripe figure (made-up of alternating layers of darkerand lightercolours)on radial surface and zig-zag markings produced by wood parenchyma on tangential surface; texture coarse but even; grain interlocked and of¬ten wavy; moderately hard or hard to cut across grain; air dry density ranging from 515 to 1040 kg/m* (32 to 65 lb/Immoderately durable when exposed to severe condi¬tions. grain interlocked and often wavy; moderately hard or hard to cut across grain; air dry density ranging from 515 to 1040 kg/m³ (32 to 65 lb/ft³); moderately durable when exposed to severe conditions.

Structure

Growth rings present, demarcated mainly by terminal layers of wood parenchyma Vessels with simple perforation; moderately large or very large; very few or few mostly solitary with some radial pairs and multiples of threes; evenly scattered without any arrangement; tyloses not common; sulphur-yellow and dark-coloured deposits characteristic.
Wood parenchyma abundant; both the apotracheal and paratracheal types present Apotracheal parenchyma as irregularly spaced (terminal) concentric layers and the Growth rings present, demarcated mainly by terminal layers of wood parenchyma Vessels with simple perforation; moderately large or very large; very few or few mostly solitary with some radial pairs and multiples of threes; evenly scattered without any arrangement; tyloses not common; sulphur-yellow and dark-coloured deposits characteristic.

Other Features

Burning splinter test: Splinter burns to ash.
Froth test: Negative. Froth test : Negative.

Uses