Category :    Heavy Hardwoods

Species

General Characteristics

Sapwood well defined; colour of heartwood purple-red or dark red-brown; planed surface with variable lustre (rather poor to medium); occasionally with stripe figure; texture rather coarse but even; grain interlocked; hard to cut across grain; end cut generally shiny; air dry density ranging from 800 to 880 kg/m³ (50 to 55 lb/ft³); mod¬erately durable.

Structure

Growth rings absent.
Vessels with simple perforation; medium-sized to moderately large; few or moder¬ately few; mostly solitary with a few radial or oblique groups of 2 to 4; evenly distributed but with a tendency to form short oblique lines; mostly filled with tyloses; deposits absent.
Wood parenchyma of both die apotracheal and paratracheal types. The apotracheal type consisting of irregularly spaced concentric bands and short or brokentangential lines. The paratracheal form, generally aliform with a tendency to the confluent type.
Rays ranging from fine to medium-sized (depending on the species); barely visible to clearly visible to the naked eye on cross-section; ranging from inconspicuous to conspicu¬ous on a radial surface.
Ripple marks generally absent.

Other Features

Burning splinter test: All species burn to ash except shorea kunstleri (balau laut merah) which burns to charcoal. Froth test: Negative.

Uses

The timber is suitable for heavy construction under cover, beams, posts, joists, heavy duty furniture, heavy duty flooring, door and window frames, railway sleepers (treated) and power transmission poles (treated).