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ARAUCARIA (Araucaria hunsteinii)

Trade Name

Araucaria

Scientific Name

Araucaria hunsteinii K. Schum.

Family

ARAUCARIACEAE

Common Names

Araucaria, Passu pai (Papua New Guinea); Klinki pine; Araucaria (Fiji); Araucaria (Australia); (Papua New Guinea); Araucaria (Malaysia); Araucaria (Indonesia)

Scientific Name Synonyms

Araucaria schumanniana Warb.; Araucaria klinkii Lauterb.

Description Of The Tree

Botanical Description

It is a very large, symmetrical tree up to 90 m tall. The bole is straight, cylindrical and self-pruning up to 35 m or more and up to 300 cm in diameter.

Natural Habitat

Araucaria hunsteinii occurs on well-drained site on a variety of soil, often in sub-montane Fagaceae forest at 520-2100 m altitude. In Papua New Guinea natural stands are no longer being logged on a large scale.

Natural Distribution

Araucaria hunsteinii is found in Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya (Indonesia). Then, it was introduced on an experimental scale in Australia, Fiji and Peninsular Malaysia.

Plantations Available?

Extensive plantation have already been established and they produce large amounts of timber, especially in Australia, while small scale plantation has been planted in Fiji and Peninsular Malaysia.Small plantations of 8,000 ha exist in Papua New Guinea and it has been introduced to Australia, Fiji and Peninsular Malaysia on an experimental scale. Plantatations are also reported in Thailand, Philippines and South Africa

Non Timber Uses

The wood is lightweight and soft.

Wood Identification

Anatomic Description Of Wood

Rays exclusively uniseriate, 4 to 10 rays per mm (medium).

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

Availability

Cites Status

Unrestricted

General Wood Description

Odor

-

Color

The heartwood is from pale brown to pinkish-brown colored and not sharply demarcated from the straw-colored sapwood. Compression wood may occur, showing up as a yellow or brown band along grain

Grain

This species is reported to have straight grain.

Texture

Texture fine, uniform. Figure not marked, but streaks of birds-eye pattern may show up on veneer.

Luster

The wood surface is described as moderate in luster.

Natural Durability

Sapwood is liable to blue-stain and pinhole borer attacks. The timber can be damaged by termites and marine borers.

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

6

Internal Growth Stresses

-

Resistance To Impregnation

The sapwood is permeable, but heartwood is moderately resistant to impregnation.

Wood Physical Properties

Drying Defects

Ease of Drying: Air drying is reported to be good. Drying Defects: Risk of end-splitting and some surface checking.

Recommended Dry Kiln Schedule

UK-J; US-T10-D5S

Wood Chemical Properties

Wood Mechanical Properties

Workability

Sawing

Low to moderate.

Rotary Veneer Cutting

Veneer qualities are excellent. This timber is also reported to be suitable for lamination.

Sliced Veneer

Veneer qualities are excellent. This timber is also reported to be suitable for lamination.

Blunting Effect

-

Machining

Machining of this species is reported to be easy.

Planing

Easy.

Moulding

Easy.

Turning

30

Boring

Easy

Mortising

-

Nailing

This species has good nailing properties.

Gluing

Gluing of this species is easy.

Sanding

Good

Finishing

It is easy to finish.

Staining

It is easy to stain.

Coatings

It is easy to paint or varnish.

Polishing

Good

Steam Bending

-

Response To Hand Tools

It is easy to work with hand tools.

REFERENCED USES

End Uses Summary

HOUSING GENERAL, boards, flooring, panelling, FURNITURE AND CABINETS, PLYWOOD AND VENEER, faces, Decorative veneer, TURNING, SPORTS, PACKING, CONTAINERS, truck bodies, truck flooring, NAVAL CONSTRUCTION, OTHER AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, handicrafts, 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
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
Faces
  • 26 - Annual Review and Assessment of the World Timber Situation 1998-ITTO
Decorative veneer
  • 28 - Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forest of Fiji
Turning
  • 30 - Embassy of Honduras in Japan
Sports
  • 38 - Annual Review and Assessment of the World Timber Situation 1998-ITTO
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
Handcraft
  • 66 - Maderas latinoamericanas. VII. Caracteristicas anatomicas. propiedades fisicomecanicas, de secado, y tratabilidad de la madera juvenil de Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pav. Oken.)
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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