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ARAUCARIA (Araucaria cunninghamii)

Trade Name

Araucaria

Scientific Name

Araucaria cunninghamii Aiton ex D.Don

Family

ARAUCARIACEAE

Common Names

Son-nam (Thailand); Araucaria (Papua New Guinea); Pien (Indonesia); Ningwik Ningwik (Indonesia); Alloa (Indonesia)

Scientific Name Synonyms

Araucaria beccarii Warb.

Description Of The Tree

Botanical Description

A very large, symmetrical tree up to 60 (-70) m tall, bole straight, cylindrical and self-pruning up to 40 m high and up to 200 cm in diameter, leaf-bearing twigs all along the length of the branches.

Natural Habitat

A. cunninghamii occurs most often in sub-montane Fagaceae forest on leached soils up to 2750 (-4000) m altitude. The tree is cultivated as an ornamental, and the seeds are edible.

Natural Distribution

Coastal regions of New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland to Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya (Indonesia).

Plantations Available?

Large scale plantations have been established in South Africa, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Non Timber Uses

The wood is lightweight and soft.

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Wood Identification

Anatomic Description Of Wood

rays barely visible to the naked eye, usually pale and not very prominent on the radial surface. Rays 6-8/mm, almost exclusively uniseriated, sometimes biseriate, up to 20 cells high.

  • Wood Macro Photo Tangential Plane
  • Wood Micro Photo Of Transversal Section

Availability

Cites Status

Unrestricted

General Wood Description

Color

Sapwood is straw-colored or pale yellow-brown, while the heartwood a little darker with a slight pinkish tinge.

Grain

Straight.

Texture

Outstandingly fine and uniform.

Luster

Moderately present.

Natural Durability

The wood is considered to be non-durable in contact with the ground, but it is resistant to Lyctus attack.

Natural durability index (1= Very high durability, 7=Vey low durability)

5

Resistance To Impregnation

Heartwood is often moderately resistant, while the sapwood is relatively easy to be penetrated by preservatives.

Wood Physical Properties

Basic Density or Specific Gravity (O.D. weight/vol. green) (g/cm³)

0.42

Air-dry Density (Weight and volume at 12%MC) (g/cm³)

0.45

Total shrinkage Tangential (Saturated to 0%MC) (%)

3.8

Total shrinkage Radial (Saturated to 0%MC) (%)

2.5

Drying Defects

Ease of Drying: Boards can be kiln dried from the green with very good results and no particular seasoning difficulties need be anticipated.For 50 mm stock, preliminary air drying is suggested. 25 mm board:About 4 days are required to kiln dry from green to 12 % m.c..A

Dimensional stability ratio (Total Tangential Shrinkage %/Total Radial Shrinkage %)

1.5

Wood Chemical Properties

Wood Mechanical Properties

Bending Strength (MOR),12%MC (kgf/cm²)

917

Stiffness (MOE) 12%MC (kgf/cm²)

132164

Compression parallel to fiber 12%MC (kgf/cm²)

499

Shear strength radial 12%MC (kgf/cm²)

92

Janka hardness (end grain) 12%MC (kgf)

554

Workability

Sawing

Low to moderate.

Rotary Veneer Cutting

Excellent.

Sliced Veneer

Excellent.

Blunting Effect

-

Machining

Well

Planing

Easy.

Moulding

Easy

Boring

Easy

Mortising

-

Nailing

Good.

Gluing

Good.

Sanding

Good.

Finishing

Well.

Staining

Good.

Coatings

Good.

Polishing

Good.

Steam Bending

-

Response To Hand Tools

Well.

Substitute Species

-

REFERENCED USES

End Uses Summary

HOUSING GENERAL, boards, flooring, frames, panelling, FURNITURE AND CABINETS, common furniture, cabinets, PLYWOOD AND VENEER, faces, common veneer, OTHER AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, pencil, matches, moldings, paper

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.
Furniture, Common
  • 23 - Handbook of Hardwoods
Cabinet
  • 24 - Empire Timbers
Panels, Veneers
  • 25 - Directory of Timber Trade Malaysia
Faces
  • 26 - Annual Review and Assessment of the World Timber Situation 1998-ITTO
Common Veneer
  • 29 - Embassy of Ecuador in Japan
Pencils
  • 67 - Maderas latinoamericanas. VIII, Calophyllum brasilense, Couratari panamensis, Dendropanax arboreum y Bombacopsis sessilis
Matches
  • 71 - Proprietes physiques et mecaniques des bois tropicaux, premier supplement
Molding
  • 79 - Padronização da Nomenclatura Comercial Brasileira das Madeiras Tropicais Amazônicas, Sugestão
Paper
  • 82 - Compilation of Data on the Mechanical Properties of Foreign woods (Part 2) Central and South America.

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