Hardwood and Softwood in the Philippines

HARDWOOD in the PHILIPPINES KAMAGONG Also known as Philippine Ebony, Kamagong is a wood unique to the country. With a black heartwood (inner region) and gray sapwood, this produces dramatic, dark timber hence the name. The grain is often grayish and has strong, dark brown streaks. MOLAVE One of the hardest local woods, molave has a fine texture that makes it smooth to the touch. It is available in pale yellow to pinkish-brownish tone with a lighter sapwood (outer region), and mostly straight grain. It has no distinct odor. Ideal for: window frames, shipbuilding, structural posts, railroad tracks, and other outdoor applications NARRA This very popular tropical wood has tones that range from yellow to red. The grain (texture and alignment of wood fiber) is often interlocked and wavy, which creates interesting flame and ribbon figures when quartersawn or flat sawn, which makes it a beautiful finishing material. Texture can be anywhere from average-fine to average-coarse. The wood itself is lustrous and has an attractive odor. Narra is classified as endangered and vulnerable here, and in Malaysia. Ideal for: furnishings, floor planks, wall panels TANGUILE A moderately hard reddish wood, tanguile is one of the seven local woods often referred to as Philippine Mahogany. This abundant wood type boasts of fine ribbon or straight grain. It is relatively soft and easy to work on, but resilient enough for outdoor construction. Ideal for: interior finishes, cabinets, boat building YAKAL This resinous wood with yellow to golden-red tones is another local mahogany type. A high-grade timber, yakal can tolerate harsh hot and cold weathers. Ideal for: furniture, surface finishes, small weapons, and outdoor constructions Dungon Dungon is a large tree measuring up to 45 meters in height and 100 centimeters in diameter. It is slightly fluted at the base and has buttresses. A large evergreen tree, trunk is buttressed; outer bark grayishreddish brown; shallowly fissured and scaly. Fruit has large wing, scaly, ellipsoid to globose nut with woody wall. The wood is said to be of good quality and used for piling, posts, foundation sills, ties, paving blocks, bridge, wharf and ship building, framing, keels, keelsons, rudders, beams, joists, rafters, hubs, spokes, felloes, axels, capstan bars, tool handles, mallets, and other wooden tools. Ipil-ipil Ipil-ipil, more commonly referred to as merbau in the United States, is a hardwood harvested from tropical forests. Merbau is currently listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List as an endangered species due to a population reduction caused by a decline in its natural range, and by exploitation. Certified merbau is available sporadically. Check with suppliers before attempting to purchase merbau. The stability of ipil-ipil makes it ideal for musical instruments, fine furniture, turned objects and specialty woodworking projects. Because of low shrinkage and durability, the wood is used for stair treads, decking, flooring, and outdoor furniture. The natural oil in ipil-ipil defends it against moisture, decay, and insects. Drawbacks to the oil may include mild allergic reactions, and stains to clothing and other textiles, especially when the wood is wet and bleeding oil from pores. Tindalo a timber tree (Pahudia rhomboidea) of the family Leguminosae of the Philippines having a hard valuable wood like that of the ipil. Tindalo is a tree with an average height of 25 to 30 meters and a diameter of 60 to 80 meters. Its trunk is straight, cylindrical, and has a regular bole ranging from 12 to 15 meters in length. The crown is typically spreading to a size one half of the total height of the tree and deciduous (sheds its leaves) during the dry season. Guijo (Shorea guiso) A large Philippine timber tree of the family Dipterocarpaceae having strong heavy hard wood with a striking figure and moderately fine texture. Outer bark grayish, narrowly fissured and cracking into small flakes; inner bark pinkish brown Langka Langka is a smooth tree reaching a height of 8 to 15 meters. Leaves are alternate, leathery, elliptic-oblong to obovate, entire, or sometimes 3-lobed, 7 to 15 centimeters long, the apex and base both pointed. A small to medium-sized, evergreen tree that reaches 8 to 14 m high. It has a straight cylindrical, low branched trunk that measures 30 to 100 cm in diameter and a dense, irregular, or spreading crown. Bark is thick, grayish and exudes a milky sap when injured. Leaves alternate, spirally arranged, stiff and leathery, dark green and shiny above and pale green beneath. Young leaves are pale yellowish green. Fruit is large, covered with short pyramidal spines. Pericarp and pulp around the seeds are the edible portions. Pulp is thick, rich yellow, sweet, and aromatic when ripe. Seeds are numerous and vary in size. Saplungan Is also known as “yakalsaplungan”, but us harder, denser, and heavier than yakal. it is yellow with brown streaks and is thus also called “tiger molave”. It was also once used for railroad ties and shipbuilding, and its attributes are akin to molave, though it is more complicated to handle for carving and sculpting projects. This wood was once abundant in the forested regions of Luzon. Outer bark generally smooth in younger trees, fissured and scaly in matured ones. Mahogany Mahogany is a world-class wood species that is found in many variants, such as African Mahogany, Cuban Mahogany, Honduran Mahogany, Santos Mahogany, Mountain Mahogany, Philippine Mahogany, etc., mainly based on the origin. It is a heartwood, usually in deep red-brown color, with occasional dark reddish streaks. Mahogany is used in both timber and logs forms, mainly for making furniture, cabinets, flooring, etc. The usability and specific properties, however, depending on where the wood has grown. Acacia Mangium Acacia mangium is an important multipurpose tree for the tropic lowlands. Mangium is one of the major fast-growing species used in plantation forestry programs throughout Asia, the Pacific, and the humid tropics. It has naturalized in Puerto Rico, Brazil, and many other areas. Due to its rapid growth and tolerance of very poor soils, A. mangium is playing an increasingly important role in efforts to sustain a commercial supply of tree products while reducing pressure on natural forest ecosystems. Mangium (Acacia mangium) wood is hard, with a basic specific gravity of 0.65 to 0.69. It produces a wood that is useful for a variety of purposes. The sapwood is cream colored, and the heartwood is ash dark brown-yellowish or pale brown with a pinkish tinge and is not sharply demarcated from the sapwood. Kempas Is a rather solid type of hardwood originating from Indonesia and Malaysia that is often used for flooring. Kempas tends to be an orangish-brown, with an overall mahogany-like appearance. Kempas has a medium to coarse open texture. The grain is interlocked and sometimes wavy. The wood can also have streaks of brittle tissue that can be a source of mechanical weakness. SOFTWOOD in the PHILIPPINES Cedar Cedar is a type of coniferous wood, meaning that it is classified as a softwood and its cones/needles remain all year round. Cedar trees fall under the Cedrus genus and the Pinaceae family, which is the family of trees that is coniferous. Cedar wood tends to be used for its natural beauty, which means it is not typically hidden in the framing of a construction project. With this visual appeal, cedar lends itself to be used in many applications like fencing, decking, siding, and trim. Because of its aromatic smell and natural insect-repellent, some types of cedar can also be used in manufacturing dressers and other clothing storage. Apitong Apitong is a medium size to large resinous tree growing to a height of about 40 meters. Trunk is straight, cylindrical, branchless up to 30 meters, up to 125 centimeters in diameter. Outer bark smooth to lenticellate when young, shedding off large flakes when mature; inner bark pinkish-brown. For posts, beams, joists, rafters, flooring, bridge and wharf construction including piles (treated); wagon, beds, automobile framing, framing of barges and lighters, rail-road-car construction, medium grade furniture, telegraph and telephone poles (treated); and for other purposes for which hard and heavy timbers are required. ENVIRONMENT SERVICES: Windbreaks and good for soil erosion control. Alder Alder, a relative of birch, is almost white when freshly cut, but quickly changes with exposure to air, becoming light brown with a yellow or reddish tinge. Heartwood is formed only in trees of advanced age and there is no visible boundary between sap and heartwood. The wood is fairly straight-grained with a uniform texture. Alder is a relatively soft hardwood of medium density that has low bending strength, shock resistance, and stiffness. Uses: Furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, shutters, molding, panel stock, turnings, carvings, and kitchen utensils. Ash Ash is a light colored, smooth-grained hardwood that grows throughout the east coast and parts of Canada. With its typical straight grain and beige-to-light-brown hue, ash wood is a very attractive option for fine furniture. It’s one of the most durable varieties and has an extensive history in American furniture making. It is durable, lightweight, aesthetically pleasing, and absorbs wood stains well. Its characteristics as a lightweight and shock-resistant wood have made it a favorite for baseball bats, tool handles, and restaurant furniture. Today ash is making a splash in home furnishings, particularly in the mid-century modern style. Gmelina Gmelina arborea is a fast-growing tree, which grows on different localities and prefers moist fertile valleys with 750–4500 mm rainfall. It does not thrive on ill-drained soils and remains stunted on dry, sandy or poor soils; drought also reduces it to a shrubby form. The tree attains moderate to large heights of up to 30 m, with a girth of 1.2 to 4 m. It has a chlorophyll layer just under the outer bark, which is pale yellow on the outside and white inside. Pine Pine trees are evergreen, coniferous resinous trees (or, rarely, shrubs) growing 3–80 m (10–260 ft) tall, with most species reaching 15–45 m (50–150 ft) tall. Pines are among the most commercially important tree species valued for their timber and wood pulp throughout the world. In temperate and tropical regions, they are fast-growing softwoods that grow in relatively dense stands, their acidic decaying needles inhibiting the sprouting of competing hardwoods. Brown heartwood and sapwood white – yellow color. Mengkulang Mengkulang, or Palapi as it is known in Indonesia is very similar to Niangon from Africa. We import this species from Malaysia, and it is widely used as a substitute for Lauan, mainly for joinery. Any of various large Malayan timber trees of the genus Heritiera (family Sterculiaceae), especially H. simplicifolia; the wood of any of these trees, valued especially as a material for plywood. Rosewood Rosewood is a deep, ruddy brown to purplish-brown color, richly streaked and grained with black resinous layers. It takes a fine polish but because of its resinous nature is difficult to work. The heartwood attains large dimensions, but squared logs or planks are never seen because before the tree arrives at maturity, the heartwood begins to decay, making it faulty and hollow at the center. Once much in demand by cabinetmakers and piano makers, the wood is still used to fashion xylophone bars, but waning supplies restrict its use. Taun Taun is a wood species originated mainly from Southeast Asia tropical forest.Raw taun wood is pink to reddish brown,sapwood is not very distinct from heart wood .Taun wood is moderately durable.As solid wooden floor it can be for interior use only.Taun is similar in appearance to another wood species from Southeast Asia regions -Merbau, but it is not so strong as merbau,also it weights lighter than real merbau. Falcata Paraserianthes falcataria (falcata) is a fast-growing tree species, grown commercially in the Philippines particularly in Bislig or in Surigao del Sur eventually spreading to nearby provinces. Acacia falcata, commonly known as sickle wattle and by other vernacular names including sally, is a perennial shrub or tree native to eastern Australia, which reaches five metres in height and has cream flowers in early winter. It gets its common and scientific name for its sickle-shaped leaves. Hardy and adaptable to cultivation, it is used in regeneration of bushland.