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KAYU PUTEH (Melaleuca leucadendra)
Trade Name
Kayu puteh
Scientific Name
Melaleuca leucadendra (L.) L.
Family
MYRTACEAE
Common Names
Kayu puteh; Gelam; Niaouli (New Caledonia); Brown tea-tree (Australia); Paper bark (Australia); Cajeput (United States of America); Smach chanlus (Cambodia); Tea tree (Papua New Guinea); Tram (Vietnam); Kayu putih (Indonesia); Broad leaved tea tree (Papua New Guinea)
Scientific Name Synonyms
Myrtus leucodendra L.; Melaleuca viridiflora Gaertner
Description Of The Tree
Botanical Description
It is an evergreen, small to medium-sized tree up to 15 m tall and 20 to 30 cm in diameter. It is reported as an essential oil plant.
Natural Habitat
It grows in pure stands on wet coastal flats and brackish swamps.
Natural Distribution
It is native to eastern Australia, Malay Archipelago, New Caledonia, and New Guinea.
Plantations Available?
This tree has been widely planted in other tropical and subtropical areas, often becoming naturalized.
Non Timber Uses
The wood contains cajeput oil which can be extracted by steam distillation.
Wood Identification
Anatomic Description Of Wood
Wood diffuse porous. Tangential diameter of vessel lumina 100 micras or less (very small). Vessels per mm2 5 to 20. Vessels per mm2 less than 6 (rare). Simple perforation plates. Vessel-ray pits similar to intervessel pits in size and shape. Intervessel pits sm Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty and/or vasicentric. Axial parenchyma aliform. Axial parenchyma confluent. Occasionally 5 to 8 cells per parenchyma strand. Occasionally axial parenchyma in narrow bands on lines up to 3 cells wide. Occasionally axial parenc 4 to 10 rays per mm (medium). Occasionally larger rays more than 4 seriate. Occasionally silica bodies in the ray cells. Homogeneous rays and/or sub-homogeneous rays (all ray cells procumbent). Fibers very thin walled. Fibers with simple to minutely bordered pits.
Availability
Cites Status
Unrestricted
General Wood Description
Color
The sapwood is yellowish, merging gradually into pinkish-gray heartwood.
Grain
The grain is interlocked, occasionally crossed.
Texture
The texture is typically fine to medium.
Natural Durability
It is durable in contact with the ground and in water.
Natural durability index (1= Very high durability, 7=Vey low durability)
1
Silica Content
Silica Content: Silica content varies from 0.2-0.95%. Silica Value: 0.55
Wood Physical Properties
Basic Density or Specific Gravity (O.D. weight/vol. green) (g/cm³)
0.65
Air-dry Density (Weight and volume at 12%MC) (g/cm³)
0.72
Total shrinkage Tangential (Saturated to 0%MC) (%)
8.4
Total shrinkage Radial (Saturated to 0%MC) (%)
4.8
Drying Defects
Ease of Drying: Boards dry rapidly without much degrade. Drying Defects: The wood is sometimes prone to collapse, checking, cupping and warping.
Dimensional stability ratio (Total Tangential Shrinkage %/Total Radial Shrinkage %)
1.8
Wood Chemical Properties
Wood Mechanical Properties
Bending Strength (MOR),12%MC (kgf/cm²)
834
Compression parallel to fiber 12%MC (kgf/cm²)
415
Workability
Sawing
Melaleuca is a hard timber but it saws well.
Blunting Effect
It tends to dull the saw-teeth.
Machining
Machining operations are fair to difficult due to interlocked grain.
Gluing
This wood is reported to glue well.
Finishing
It takes a fairly good finish.
REFERENCED USES
End Uses Summary
EXTERIOR GENERAL, bridges, poles, paling, rails, crossarms, crossties, HOUSING GENERAL, FURNITURE AND CABINETS, TOOLS, agricultural tools, PACKING, CONTAINERS, truck bodies, truck flooring, NAVAL CONSTRUCTION, boats, port pillar, port storage
Exterior General
- 1 - Tabela de resultados de ensaios fisicos e mecanicos
Bridges
- 2 - 25 madeiras da amazonia de valor comercial, caracterizacao, macroscopica, usos comuns e indices qualificativos
Poles
- 3 - Estudo dendrologico e determinacao das caracteristicas fisicas e mecanicas do genipapo (Genipa americana)
Paling Fence Pickets
- 4 - Estudo dendrologico e determinacao das caracteristicas fisicas e mecanicas da bicuiba
Rails
- 6 - Physical and mechanical properties of Eucalyptus deglupta Blume grown in Costa Rica
Crossheads Crossarms
- 7 - Maderas latinoamericanas. II, Quercus alata Q. costaricensis y Q. eugeniaefolia
Crossties
- 8 - Maderas latinoamericas. III, Podocarpus standleyi ,Podocarpus oleifolius, Drims granadensis, Magnolia poasana y Didymopanax pittieri
General Housing
- 10 - Silica in Timbers
Furniture Cabinets
- 21 - Tropical timbers of the world. Part III-Southeast Asian and Oceanian Species.
Tools
- 42 - Utilización Industrial de Nuevas Especies Forestales en el Perú.
Agricultural Tools
- 44 - Atlas of Peruvian Woods
Packing
- 45 - Recopilación y Análisis de Estudios Tecnológicos de Maderas Peruanas
Truck Body
- 53 - Timbers of the New World
Truck Flooring
- 54 - Bulletin of the Government Forest Experiment Station N.157: Identification of Tropical Woods
Shipbuilding
- 55 - Tropical Timber Atlas of Latin America
Boats
- 56 - Manual de Identificación de Especies Forestales de la Subregión Andina.
Port Pillar
- 61 - Manual de Diseño para Maderas del Grupo Andino
Port Storage
- 62 - Estudio Tecnológico de Maderas del Perú (Zona Pucallpa) Vol I
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