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PULAI (Alstonia scholaris)

Trade Name

Pulai

Scientific Name

Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br.

Family

APOCYNACEAE

Common Names

White cheesewood (Papua New Guinea); Dosi (Indonesia); Goti (Indonesia); Pulai biasa (Indonesia); Lingaroe (Indonesia); Pulai (Sarawak); Pulai (Indonesia); Dita (Philippines); Mo cua (Vietnam); Popel khe (Cambodia); Tienpod (Thailand); Shaitan (Myanmar); Chatian (Bangladesh); Chatian (India)

Scientific Name Synonyms

Pala scholaris (L.) Roberty; Echites scholaris L.

Description Of The Tree

Botanical Description

It is a medium size to fairly large tree, up to 40 m tall. The bole is 15 m long, cylindrical, fluted in older trees, up to 125 cm in diameter. It presents stout buttresses up to 6 m high. It is reported as a corkwood tree.

Natural Distribution

A. scholaris is the most widely distributed species of the Pulai group. It is reported to grow from Sri Lanka, throughout mainland Southeast Asia down to Australia.

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Wood Identification

Anatomic Description Of Wood

Wood diffuse porous. Tangential diameter of vessel lumina 200 micras or more (large). Vestured pits. Vessel-ray pits reticulate and/or foraminate. Simple perforation plates. Intervessel pits small, 7 micras or less. Prismatic crystals in chambered axial parenchyma cells and/or in fibers. Axial parenchyma in narrow bands on lines up to 3 cells wide. Body ray cells procumbent with one row of upright and/or square marginal cells (Kribs-III). Fibers with distinctly bordered pits.

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

Availability

Cites Status

Unrestricted

General Wood Description

Color

The heartwood is cream-white, sometimes weathering to yellow-brown, and not clearly differentiated from the sapwood.

COLOR INDEX (1=Black, 7=Light yellow,white)

6

Grain

The grain is straight or interlocked.

Texture

The texture is moderately fine to moderately coarse.

Luster

Planed surfaces are moderately lustrous, the tangential surface occasionally with zigzag markings.

Natural Durability

The wood is non-durable and is very perishable in exposed conditions and in contact with the ground.

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

5

Silica Content

Silica Content: The wood contains no silica. Silica Value: 0

Resistance To Impregnation

The wood is easy to treat with preservatives.

Wood Physical Properties

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

0.35

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

0.37

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

4.9

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

3.1

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

1.6

Wood Chemical Properties

Wood Mechanical Properties

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

496

Stiffness (MOE) 12%MC (kgf/cm²)

80000

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

297

Shear strength radial 12%MC (kgf/cm²)

52

Janka hardness (side) 12%MC (kgf)

203

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

330

Workability

Sawing

This species is easy to saw.

Rotary Veneer Cutting

Tests on this species indicate that it can be laminated at a 90 degrees peeling angle.

Sliced Veneer

Tests on this species indicate that it can be laminated at a 90 degrees peeling angle.

Planing

Planing operations are rather easy.

Nailing

This species has good nailing properties.

Sanding

Wood of this species is easy to sand.

Finishing

This species is reported to be easy to finish.

Polishing

Polishing of this species is reportedly easy.

REFERENCED USES

End Uses Summary

HOUSING GENERAL, shutter boards, FURNITURE AND CABINETS, PLYWOOD AND VENEER, cores, PACKING, NAVAL CONSTRUCTION, OTHER AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, handicrafts, pencil, shoes, matches, coffin, particleboard, paper

General Housing
  • 10 - Silica in Timbers
Shutter Boards
  • 20 - Prospect: The wood database
Furniture Cabinets
  • 21 - Tropical timbers of the world. Part III-Southeast Asian and Oceanian Species.
Panels, Veneers
  • 25 - Directory of Timber Trade Malaysia
Cores
  • 27 - Embassy of Brazil in Japan
Packing
  • 45 - Recopilación y Análisis de Estudios Tecnológicos de Maderas Peruanas
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.)
Pencils
  • 67 - Maderas latinoamericanas. VIII, Calophyllum brasilense, Couratari panamensis, Dendropanax arboreum y Bombacopsis sessilis
Shoes
  • 70 - Proprietes physiques et mecaniques des bois tropicaux de l`union francaise
Matches
  • 71 - Proprietes physiques et mecaniques des bois tropicaux, premier supplement
Coffin
  • 78 - Amazonian Timbers for the International Market
Particleboard
  • 80 - Estudio Integral de la Madera para Construcción
Paper
  • 82 - Compilation of Data on the Mechanical Properties of Foreign woods (Part 2) Central and South America.

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