PALAPI (Heritiera simplicifolia)
Trade Name
Palapi
Scientific Name
Heritiera simplicifolia Masters
Family
Sterculiaceae
Common Names
Mengkulang (France); Mengkulang (Sarawak); Mengkulang (United Kingdom); Don-chem (Cambodia); Mengkulang (Germany); Mengkulang (Italy); Red/brown tulip oak (Australia); Kembang (Sabah); Huynh (Vietnam); Lumbayau (Philippines); Teraling (Indonesia); Palapi (Indonesia); Mengkulang (Malaysia); Chumprag (Thailand); Kanze (Myanmar)
Scientific Name Synonyms
Tarrietia simplicifolia Masters
Description Of The Tree
Botanical Description
It is a large tree, up to 50 m tall with straight and columnar bole up to 135 cm in diameter. The buttresses are large.
Natural Habitat
It is the most important species belonging to the "Mengkulang" group. This species occurs scattered in lowland mixed dipterocarp forests, on well drained soil, up to 300 m of altitude.
Natural Distribution
It is distributed in Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo. In Sabah, it is also widespread.
Wood Identification
Anatomic Description Of Wood
Vessels per mm2 less than 6 (rare). Wood diffuse porous. Colored deposits in heartwood vessels. Tangential diameter of vessel lumina 200 micras or more (large). Vessel-ray pits similar to intervessel pits in size and shape. Simple perforation plates. Simple per Apotracheal axial parenchyma diffuse and/or diffuse in aggregates. Paratracheal axial parenchyma scanty and/or vasicentric. Axial parenchyma in marginal or in seemingly marginal bands. Siliceous bodies in the axial parenchyma cells. Axial parenchyma in narrow Rays storied. 4 to 10 rays per mm (medium). Larger rays more than 4 seriate. Silica bodies in the ray cells. Body ray cells procumbent with mostly 2 to 4 rows of upright and/or square marginal cells (Kribs-II). Sheath cells. Occasionally body ray cells procumbe Fibers with distinctly bordered pits. Fibers storied.
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Wood Macro Photo Radial Plane
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Wood Micro Photo Of Transversal Section
Availability
Cites Status
Unrestricted
General Wood Description
Odor
It has unpleasant odor when fresh.
Color
The sapwood is not always clearly distinct, it varies in color from light yellow to light reddish. The heartwood is pale pink when fresh, in strong light darkens to dark red-brown.
COLOR INDEX (1=Black, 7=Light yellow,white)
5
Grain
It is straight to shallowly interlocked.
Texture
The texture varies from medium to moderately coarse, vessels contain dark deposits.
Luster
The heartwood is slightly lustrous.
Natural Durability
It is moderate-perishable and somewhat susceptible to fungi and insect attack.
Natural durability index (1= Very high durability, 7=Vey low durability)
6
Silica Content
Silica Content: It is reported to have silica. Contents over 0.05% may affect wood processing. Silica Value: 0
Resistance To Impregnation
This species is reported to be moderately difficult to preserve.
Wood Physical Properties
Basic Density or Specific Gravity (O.D. weight/vol. green) (g/cm³)
0.67
Air-dry Density (Weight and volume at 12%MC) (g/cm³)
0.75
Total shrinkage Tangential (Saturated to 0%MC) (%)
6.4
Total shrinkage Radial (Saturated to 0%MC) (%)
3.1
Drying Defects
Ease of Drying: Seasoning is reported to be rather difficult. Drying Defects: It is likely to warp and split.
Recommended Dry Kiln Schedule
UK-D; US-32-22; JP-17
Dimensional stability ratio (Total Tangential Shrinkage %/Total Radial Shrinkage %)
2.1
Wood Chemical Properties
Wood Mechanical Properties
Bending Strength (MOR),12%MC (kgf/cm²)
975
Stiffness (MOE) 12%MC (kgf/cm²)
146087
Compression parallel to fiber 12%MC (kgf/cm²)
543
Compression perpendicular to fiber 12%MC (kgf/cm²)
56
Shear strength radial 12%MC (kgf/cm²)
92
Janka hardness (side) 12%MC (kgf)
409
Janka hardness (end grain) 12%MC (kgf)
656
Workability
Sawing
Sawing of this wood is reported to be fair to difficult.
Rotary Veneer Cutting
Good veneer can be made at a peeling angle of 92 degrees without pretreatment, but steaming is recommended.
Sliced Veneer
Good veneer can be made at a peeling angle of 92 degrees without pretreatment, but steaming is recommended.
Blunting Effect
Blunting effect on cutting tools is reported due to the silica content.
Machining
Interlocked grain hinders machining operations, and special cutters are required.
Planing
Care is needed when planing quarter-sawn timber in order to avoid the grain picking up. Using a cutting angle of 20 degrees usually produces a smooth finish.
Nailing
Nail-holding is good, pre-boring is recommended to avoid splitting.
Gluing
Gluing properties are good. The use of urea-formaldehyde glues is recommended.
Finishing
It is easy to finish.
Polishing
Wood of this species is easy to polish.
REFERENCED USES
End Uses Summary
EXTERIOR GENERAL, poles, crossties, HOUSING GENERAL, boards, flooring, frames, panelling, FURNITURE AND CABINETS, PLYWOOD AND VENEER, TOOLS, tool handles, PACKING, CONTAINERS, cooperage, truck bodies, truck flooring, NAVAL CONSTRUCTION, boat hulls, boat deck, OTHER AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, handicrafts
Exterior General
- 1 - Tabela de resultados de ensaios fisicos e mecanicos
Poles
- 3 - Estudo dendrologico e determinacao das caracteristicas fisicas e mecanicas do genipapo (Genipa americana)
Crossties
- 8 - Maderas latinoamericas. III, Podocarpus standleyi ,Podocarpus oleifolius, Drims granadensis, Magnolia poasana y Didymopanax pittieri
General Housing
- 10 - Silica in Timbers
Boards
- 13 - Dry kiln schedules for commercial woods. Temperate and tropical. Section III. Latin American (Mexico, Central, and South America) Woods–Conventional Temperatures
Flooring
- 14 - Handbook of Hardwoods
Frames
- 16 - Woods of the World
Paneling
- 18 - W3TROPICOS Missouri Botanical Garden
Furniture Cabinets
- 21 - Tropical timbers of the world. Part III-Southeast Asian and Oceanian Species.
Panels, Veneers
- 25 - Directory of Timber Trade Malaysia
Tools
- 42 - Utilización Industrial de Nuevas Especies Forestales en el Perú.
Tool Handles
- 43 - Maderas de Bolivia (Características y Usos de 55 Maderas Tropicales)
Packing
- 45 - Recopilación y Análisis de Estudios Tecnológicos de Maderas Peruanas
Containers
- 50 - Properties of imported tropical woods
Cooperage
- 51 - Recopilacion de propiedades mecanicas de maderas creciendo en Chile
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
Boat Hulls
- 57 - Estadísticas de Aprovechamiento, Exportación y comercialización Nacional de Productos Forestales
Boat Decking
- 59 - Programa Nacional de uso Sostenible de los Bosques e Incremento a las Exportaciones.
Handcraft
- 66 - Maderas latinoamericanas. VII. Caracteristicas anatomicas. propiedades fisicomecanicas, de secado, y tratabilidad de la madera juvenil de Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pav. Oken.)
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